Dead Streets
by BJ Louis
Summary: Sequel To From The Ashes: With the wars over, people have begun to search Midgar again. And those people are not returning home...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is the sequel to another Final Fantasy VII Fanfiction named From The Ashes. If you haven't read that yet, this will be very confusing. You've been warned. 

* * *

Chapter 1 

* * *

"Why me? Why is it always me? I swear, they pick me for these roles just because I hate them..." Reeve murmured. He pushed open the heavy oak door with one hand and began the journey down the darkened hallway. His briefcase swayed at his side. The dim light thrown off by the light bulbs was hardly enough to light a firefly's behind, let alone a long hallway. Reeve just shook his head. 

"We don't need energy that badly" He remarked as he reached his office. Sighing, he pushed open his heavy old door and walked into his office. He dropped his briefcase on the desk in his office and walked over to his large window and looked down at the city below. 

"You know, I never realized how much it rained in Junon until I moved here" He put his hand on the glass and looked upwards. Just as he went to push off the glass, he say a figure in the reflection of the glass. Reeve spun around quickly, leaning against the window. 

"You! Damn, security...!" Reeve screamed as he lunged for the phone. He tried to grab the phone but his nervous hands kept letting it slip away. 

"If I was here to harm you, you would have never reached the window" Phoenix remarked; his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Reeve stopped playing hot potato with the phone and glanced over at him. 

"What do you want then...?" Reeve asked. He flopped into his office chair and put his hands together, his figures nervously dancing there. Phoenix glanced over at Reeve's computers then took a step forward. 

"You have something I want" Phoenix stated as lightning crashed out in the sky, lighting up the room quickly before fading back to darkness. 

* * *

"Well, it's beginning to look like a building" Cloud mentioned, looking up from the building plans. Craning her neck to look over his shoulder, Tifa took a look at the plans herself. 

"Yes.. the very beginning" Tifa remarked. Cloud pushed the paper down as he turned to her. 

"What do you mean? I think it's looking good!" Cloud let go of the paper with his left hand and pointed to the building. 

"Cloud, all we got is the framework up!" Tifa exclaimed, throwing both of her arms towards the structure. Cloud rolled his eyes and held up the blueprints. 

"Tifa, that's a good deal of the work! We can do the rest now; we know how to use hammers and nails!" Cloud pointed to the designs with his left hand now. Tifa put her hands on her hips and glanced at the structure. 

"I guess so. I just want it to be done, ya know?" Tifa pulled her hands of her hips and crossed them over her chest. Cloud looked back at her with a small grin on his face. 

"Tifa, their are only a few contractors here. Other people need to get their framework up. I think we can do the minor stuff ourselves" Cloud winked at her. Tifa's jaw dropped. 

"Minor stuff? Cloud, we need to put the walls up! We need to put the siding on! We need to put the drywall up! We'll then need to paint the drywall! And then-" She began, but Cloud put his finger up to her lips. 

"Between the three of us, it will fly by. Plus Tifa...come on, we don't need the help as badly as the other people here do" Cloud remarked. Tifa sighed and nodded her head. 

"I know Cloud; I really do. I just wish you wouldn't act like it was nothing" Tifa added as a small smile covered her face. Cloud chuckled and turned back to the blueprints. Tifa tapped her toes and looked around. Kalm was normally a very quiet town; the kind of town that was on a postcard. But ever since the Meteor Crisis, the city had been in chaos. First the city became a huge refugee center for all the people who had left or survived Midgar. Then, just as the majority of those people were leaving, Phoenix had shown up and burnt most of the city down. While a few houses escaped with minor damage, most of the city was in ruins. While Cloud and Tifa had went after Phoenix, the townspeople had begun to clean up the city. Only now was most of the rubble gone and they were able to rebuild their lives. Tifa sighed when she remembered what the city had looked like. As she looked at the city, she saw Aeris walking towards the two of them. Cloud still had his nose buried in the blueprints and did not see her approaching. Aeris waved to Tifa and opened her mouth to send salutations. Tifa shook her head quickly and put her finger up to her lips. Aeris blinked but quickly regained herself and winked to Tifa. 

"Hey Aeris! Figures you would show up when we got done working for the day!" Tifa yelled at her. Tifa put her hands on her hips again. Aeris bite her lip so she would not laugh. 

"What do you mean Tifa? I've been off helping people. You know, helping!" Aeris screamed back. Tifa smiled slightly until Cloud turned around. Aeris walked up right in front of Tifa; crossing her arms as she did. Tifa bent her neck down just a touch; looking into Aeris' eyes. 

"Helping? I bet you were off gathering flowers or some other waste of time!" Tifa had to bite her own lip now to suppress the laughter. Cloud dropped the blueprints and looked at Tifa. 

"Tifa!" He forced out. Aeris stuck her tongue out at them while Cloud was looking at Tifa. She pulled it back in and tried to look mad again. 

"Waste of time? Waste of time? Oh you're just jealous that I can find beautiful flowers! All you ever find are ugly rotten plants. And they're just as ugly and rotten as you!" Aeris threw her arms down at her sides as she screamed the last part. Cloud's head spun to Aeris now. 

"Aeris!" He spit out; his mouth hanging open. Tifa lifted a hand up and muffled the giggles that were coming out of her mouth. Gaining her composure, Tifa put her hand back on her hip. 

"Oh, we're talking ugly and rotten now? I must be holding a mirror up because you are the ugly one!" Tifa screamed, pulling her hand off her hip yet again and waving it around in the air, taunting Aeris. Aeris balled her hands up in fists until Cloud turned away; she then held her hands up to her face and waved them around. 

"You know what Tifa, I outta sock you in the face!" Aeris screamed. She dropped down into a fighting stance, mocking Tifa. Tifa looked down at the ground and nearly pierced her her tongue with her teeth. Cloud's head spun around one more time just as Aeris re-crossed her arms. Tifa just pushed her hair back out of her face then grinned at Aeris. 

"Oh, I'd like to see you try it missy!" Tifa taunted her, wavering her fingers towards herself. Cloud's head spun from Tifa to Aeris to Tifa as he saw them advancing towards each other. He flung his arms out in front of both of them, stopping their advances towards one another. Tifa pushed on his arm gently but acted like she was pushing a huge boulder. 

"Let me at her Cloud! I'm sick of her Goodie-Two-Shoe act!" Tifa roared, throwing herself at Cloud's arm. Aeris' eyes went wide when she heard that and threw herself even harder at Cloud's other arm, her arms reaching for Tifa. 

"Get out of the way! I'm gonna rip her little neck off her body!" Aeris thrashed against Cloud's arm. Then, both of them slammed into his arms at once. The force knocked Cloud onto his behind. He quickly looked up as the two girls grabbed each other's shoulder. Then, out of no where, the anger washed out of their faces. 

"Oh Tifa...you little..." Aeris softly spoke. Tifa gave Aeris a wink. 

"Oh you know it...!" Tifa squealed. Then, both moved close together, their hair swinging wildly in the air. They held their faces close to each other, looking like lovers. Cloud's eyes rolled back as he fell backwards, nearly fainting. He laid their, staring up at the sky. 

"I am not believing this!" Cloud screamed at the sky. Then, he heard two sets of giggles. He leaned up and looked at them both. Their giggles ceased as they turned to him. Both held out a hand; their figures forming a "v" 

"Gotcha!" They screamed at the same time. Cloud's eyes rolled back again as this time he actually fainted. 

* * *

"So I came to see you" Phoenix's eyes sat fixed on Reeve's face. The rain struck the window of the office. It sounded as if someone was shooting baseballs out of a pitching machine at the window. Reeve looked away from the boy a moment and thought over what he had just heard. 

"Why should I trust you?" Reeve questioned. Phoenix huffed twice and glared just a little more. 

"I've told you if I wanted to harm you I already would have. That means I do not plan on doing it. Look...all I wanna know is who I am. What I am. Where I came from" Phoenix stated. Reeve watched as the dark bitterness in the boy's face seemed to turn into a confusion of sorts. Reeve nodded his head and folded his hands on the desk. 

"I understand Phoenix. I suppose it would be ok for you to have a look at those files" Reeve answered. The rain drops began to decrease in velocity now. Phoenix felt a tiny smile fight onto his face. 

"You have my gratitude" Phoenix felt his eyes light up with the quick burst of bright lightning outside. Reeve sighed contently and pointed to a chair. 

"You can have a seat Phoenix. I don't have those files here, though" Reeve remarked. Phoenix walked over to the chair and glanced down at it. After a few moments, he flopped down into it. 

"Why not?" Phoenix asked as he looked up at Reeve. Reeve took a deep breathe and glanced at the doorway before speaking. 

"That computer has a lot of files on it about stuff people do not need to know. Shinra is dead Phoenix...I feel its ideal should die with it. If I kept it here, someone may break into it and steal all the information" Reeve explained to him. Phoenix crossed his arms and looked at the window. 

"What was this world like? It seems that its all in a state of confusion...or is that just me?" Phoenix turned his attention back to the older gentleman. Reeve nodded and leaned back in his chair. 

"It's not just you. The world been in chaos ever since...gosh, I guess since AVALANCHE started it's terrorist attacks on Shinra" Reeve leaned his neck back just enough to give it a good crack. The rain was smacking softer on the glass now; it sounded like small tennis balls instead of baseballs now. Phoenix made a face as he unfolded his arms and pressed up on the arm rests. 

"What exactly happened? I mean, the truth" Phoenix questioned. Reeve tilted his head at the boy. 

"What do you know? I mean, you clearly show an understanding of fighting, but...I'm just curious. Do you have a general knowledge of life? Do you know exactly what happened? I mean, I know you have no clue about yourself" Reeve replied honestly. Phoenix sat back into the chair; shrugging his shoulders once then leaning back in the chair. 

"I'm not sure what I know. Rather; how I know it. I know how to fight and defend myself. I know that I am very fast and very agile. I know how to do a cartwheel yet I do not know why I know that. That's how it all is for me; I know how but not why I know how. I do not recall learning how to spell yet I know how to spell. It's frustrating" Phoenix claimed. He leaned down into the chair, looking at the desk top. Reeve took a deep breathe yet again. 

"That's a shame. Maybe those files will help. Regardless, you were asking about AVALANCHE. I know they started as a small rebel group in the slums under Midgar. They attacked a Mako Reactor and destroyed it. Killed numerous people and lost Shinra a ton of money. They attempted to blow up another Reactor but got caught doing it. After that, Shinra decided to drop a plate onto the Sector 7 slums as an example...we killed scores of people just to show them we meant business..." Reeve trailed off, turning away from Phoenix and looking out the window. Phoenix looked up at him. He watched the rain splash into the window and streak down. The silhouette of Reeve's upper body stood in stark contrast to the water-fall like window. 

"We...you worked for Shinra, did you not?" Phoenix asked him softly. Reeve sighed and looked down at the bottom part of the window. 

"I was suppose to help the people in the slums. Instead, I helped kill scores of them to flush out four people. Hundred of innocents for four people who ended up saving the world..!" Reeve forced out the last part; his voice catching at the end. The boy looked at the rain streaking down the glass in a group of tiny streams. 

"This all sounds familiar, but in a distant way. I have a general understanding of what's happened. Or at least, what I think happened" Phoenix lifted an arm up and rested his head on his open palm. Reeve let out a shakey breathe then spun back to face the boy. 

"Do you understand what it is like to know you had a hand in killing so many people for such an insignificant reason? Do you?" Reeve's teeth snapped together as he leaned forward. The moment the words left his mouth, he sulked back into his chair. Phoenix looked at him other his fingertips. 

"You are talking to the person who helped burn Kalm to the ground. I am aware what it is like to destroy so much for so little" Lightning crashed outside as the words fell out of his mouth. Reeve tapped his fingers together in front of himself. 

"Why? That doesn't seem your style. You always seemed to like to move quickly. I could be wrong, but burning a town down..." Reeve twisted his chair to the side but keep his attention on the boy. Phoenix leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. 

"It was not my idea. Someone attacked me with Fire Materia. The building caught on fire. However, once I saw that fire...I let it grow. I did not put it out. I could have, but I choose not to. I'm not sure why...the fire just grew and grew and it intrigued me. Before I knew it, the whole town was catching on fire; something exploded outside the shop. I'll be honest Reeve...I do not exactly remember what happened there. So while it was not my idea...it's still my fault the town burned down. Without me there, it would still be standing" Phoenix let out a sigh when he finished telling the story. Reeve spun the chair all the way around until he was facing the boy again. 

"Well Phoenix, no one has officially fingered you for the arson at Kalm. I doubt anyone can ever officially blame you of arson" Reeve kept tapping his fingers together. Phoenix's neck bent downward as he looked forward. 

"It was not something I wanted to do. It is a regret. Maybe one day, I can do something to fix what I did there" Phoenix remarked. Reeve felt his face get heavy with sadness. 

"Phoenix, its a good intention, it is. But you can't...well, I guess you can bring back all the people-" Reeve began. Phoenix leaned forward as he slammed his hands onto the arm-rests. 

"No one will be coming back again. The Nifix Device is gone" Phoenix coldly stated as thunder boomed loudly outside. Reeve pushed his chair a few inches back while he nodded his head. 

"Sorry, sorry, sorry! Look, Kalm is re-building...I'm sure they could use someone like you around to help" Reeve held his hand out. Phoenix leaned back; the chair sent creaks into the air. 

"Perhaps. I want to know about myself first. Once I know what I am, I will be ready to move on" Phoenix stated. Reeve grinned and opened his mouth to speak. But before the words could come out, the telephone began to ring. Reeve's eyebrows rose as he turned to the phone. 

"Excuse me a moment" Reeve picked up the phone and held it to his ear. Phoenix's mismatched eyes moved off Reeve and onto the window behind him. 

"Hello...yes, that's right. You mean they already decided? Yeah, right, I'll be there ASAP" Reeve mentioned while hanging up the phone. Phoenix's eyes moved off the window and back onto Reeve. The blue eyes seemed to be probing for information while the green eye seemed to be calm and willing to wait for the answer. Reeve let out a deep breathe. 

"The board has decided what they want to do with Midgar" Reeve announced. Phoenix's eyes narrowed; now both eyes were probing for information. Reeve stood up and looked down at the boy. 

"Well, we're in bad shape here. Junon lost quite a bit of everything in the Weapon attacks. We were hoping to scout out Midgar to see if we could find anything to salvage" Reeve claimed. Phoenix let out a soft chuckle. 

"Not much left but rubble" Phoenix chuckled a few more times, then looked up at Reeve. 

"I know; I've been there too. The mayor here does not believe me, though. He thinks we need to explore the entire city" Reeve threw his arms into the air and grinned. Phoenix made a face and stood up. 

"That seems pointless" Phoenix crossed his arms and looked at the window. Their reflection in the glass was distorted by all the rainfall running down it. 

"You want to wait here for me? It'll be pointless to wait around the mayor's office" Reeve pointed out. A few moments passed; the only sound heard was the thumping of the rain off the glass window. 

"Well, you can read some files on my computer. They're not about you, but you can freshen up on your world history" Reeve walked back behind his desk and turned the computer on. Phoenix strolled over behind him and looked down at the screen. 

"Very well" Phoenix flopped down in the chair and moved in closer. Reeve chuckled as he picked up his briefcase. He walked over to the door of his office and yanked it open. 

"Just click on the forward button at the bottom of the page to read more. I'll be back when this meeting finishes. Then I can let you read your own files" Reeve said. Phoenix looked up, nodded his head once, then went back to the computer. His mismatched eyes began to scroll over the information in front of him; the only sound he could hear was still the constant pounding of rain outside. 

* * *

Down the road from Reeve's office there sat a small dank bar. The cement front of the building was still cracked from the Weapon assaults that had crippled the city. The former glass windows where now covered with pile-wood. The aluminium door was peeling and filled with dents. Inside, two broken tables sat at the front of the bar; the wooden bar was so old even termites refused to live in it. Only two bar stools were not broken; and one of them was occupied by a small fat man. His jacket was tattered and worn; the zipper looked like it would fall off at any minute. The bartender, whose shirt looked to have been cleaned with grease, was washing a glass with a wash-rag. 

"So Ray, this job is gonna do us good, right?" The man sitting at the stool inquired. He took a tiny sip from his beer mug. The bartender looked around the bar a moment; he saw the broken tables, the broken windows, the busted television, then looked back at the man. 

"Yeah Billy, I think it will. I mean, this guy is paying me 100 gil just to meet him! I mean...gosh!" Ray screamed, slamming the bar with his wash-rag. Billy took another tiny sip from his beer and leaned back in the stool. 

"So any idea-er what this job gonna be?" Billy put his glass down and looked up at Ray. The big man shrugged his massive shoulders. 

"Something...well, something we shouldn't be doing. But we need the gil, badly" Ray remarked. Billy looked down at his glass; only an inch of alcoholic liquid remained. 

"Yeah, we do..." Billy trailed off. Ray sighed and shook his head. 

"No way man; no more free ones. I'm not making money as it is!" Ray said firmly. Billy just sighed and laid his head on the bar. Then, the flimsy door shot open like it was hit by a cannon ball. In walked a man wearing a black business jacket. His fine leather shoes smacked off the dirty bar-floor. He walked over to the bar and stared down at the barstool. His nose crinkled up. He leaned his neck upwards and stared at Ray. His arm pulled out of the pocket and flung a crisp one-hundred gil bill onto the bar. 

"So, Mr. Joseph, I see your associate is here" The man spoke; the words came off his lips with a certain tone of disgust. Ray, who had been washing the same glass for twenty minutes, slammed the glass down and snatched up the gil quickly. After he jammed it into his pocket, he nodded towards Billy. 

"Yeah, that's Billy. Like I told you Mr. Overton, we're the men you're looking for! We can do it all" Ray nodded his head. The man turned his attention to Billy, who was sipping the last of his beer away. Finally, Mr. Overton sighed and looked back to Ray. 

"Here is the deal Mr. Joseph. Agree to do whatever is written on the paper in my right pocket, and you and your associate here will never have to sit in this pig-hole ever again" Mr. Overton stated. Billy slammed his empty glass down. 

"We're not some bums, a'right? At least tell us what you want us to do!" Billy roared; small droplets of saliva landing on the expensive jacket of Mr. Overton. 

"Perhaps I can find someone-" Mr. Overton began. Ray slapped Billy right in the face; the blow knocked Billy off his stool. As he rolled over onto his stomach, Ray looked back at the business man. 

"You got a deal" Raymond replied. Mr. Overton grinned and pulled out the paper. As Ray unfolded it, a few gils fell out of it. Mr. Overton turned and walked towards the door. 

"That money should cover your expenses. Once the job is done, I will return to pay you the rest...and if the job does not get done...pray" The door slammed shut; the glasses on the bar shook and fell onto their sides. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

* * *

"You two...I cannot believe you two kissed!" Cloud screamed; his arms tensed at his sides. His whole body was vibrating like train tracks with an express on the way. Tifa waved her hand casually and looked over at Aeris. 

"It's gonna be cold tonight" Tifa put her hands on her hips and fought hard to keep the giggles from escaping. Aeris looked up at the sky; the clouds move across the twilight of the day with elegant grace. The wind was pushing the clouds across the sky with gently warm breezes. 

"Yeah, it probably will be. What do you think Cloud?" Aeris bent over and put her hands behind her back playfully; his mouth shaking from holding in so many giggles. Cloud's eyes began to bulge out of the sockets; his teeth began to grind together in his mouth. 

"I do not believe you two.." The words came through his clenched jaw; they had forced their way out. Tifa looked over at Aeris and gave her a look. 

"Yeah Aeris, really. Listen to us; talking about the weather. We should be ashamed of ourselves!" Tifa shot off at her. Aeris gasped and looked at Tifa. 

"How dare you!" Aeris crossed her arms and sneered at Tifa. Then, through the air molecules came a very loud scream. Cloud was emitting a cry so loud that near by animals began to run away. He pivoted on his feet; spinning away from them. He threw his arms into the air as the scream died down. Then, when the scream was a mere echo, he marched away from them. As soon as his body fell from sight, both girls let loose with the giggles, falling over onto the soft grass. After a few moments of rolling around on the grass and laughing like school girls, they both sat up. Aeris looked over at Tifa with a huge grin. 

"You know, he's going to hate us for this" Aeris said cheerfully. Tifa grinned at her and shook her head. She got to her feet and knocked some loose grass of her legs. 

"Nonsense; we all needed something to lighten the mood around here" Tifa knocked the few final pieces of grass off her shirt. Aeris picked a few pieces of grass of her skirt and placed them on the ground. 

"Yeah; he won't stay mad at us. He's just incapable of it" Aeris mentioned. Tifa felt the wind gently brush into her. Unlike before, when the breeze had been warm and filled with joy, this breeze stung her skin with its bitterness. Tifa glanced down at Aeris and watched her get to her feet and dust even more grass of her skirt. 

"Well, maybe not you. You're the good one; I'm the bad one" Tifa remarked harshly. Aeris hands froze on her skirt; a piece of grass stuck between her thumb and finger. The breeze pushed her dark hair upwards into the sky. 

"What do you mean?" Aeris questioned quickly. The dark night sky forced the twilight to become a memory; dark clouds began to cover the sky. Tifa half-turned her body away from Aeris; her eyes focused on the the town. Or rather, where the town would be. In place of an actual town, Kalm looked like a military town; tents all lined the streets, temporarily housing the citizens. The cold wind was playing havok on the tents. Their new homes would not be ready for a few more weeks. And while Tifa had complained about the state of their new home, it was much farther along then other homes. Aeris gently pushed Tifa's shoulder. 

"Hey Tifa, what did you mean by that?" Aeris shook her shoulder. Tifa spun towards her and stepped back. She took a deep breath as the cold breeze rushed her again. She took yet another step back, causing Aeris' hand to fall off her shoulder. 

"Oh...sorry. It's nothing" Tifa muttered. She turned away from Aeris and took a few steps towards the town. Aeris jogged and stepped in her path. She held her arms up at her sides to stop Tifa from walking pass. 

"Come on, what did you mean by that?" Aeris pleaded to know. Tifa felt her head grow heavy as her neck tilted downwards. The freezing breeze ran up both of their spines causing their bodies to twitch. 

"Look, I'm not stupid and neither are you. You're the good girl and I'm the bad girl. I mean, look at how you dress and at how I dress! And come on, I'm a huge tom boy and you're a girlie-girl! And I wanna run a bar and you wanna run a flower store! You're the princess and I'm the hooker" Tifa screamed out with all her might. The power of her voice seemed to knock Aeris' arms down and forced her face to look down. For a time the only sound that could be heard was the wind whipping into them. Finally, Aeris moved herself out of Tifa's way. 

"I had no clue you felt that way..." Aeris murmured. All the anger and rage in Tifa burst like a balloon on a thumbtack. Her shoulders drooped down due to the lose of her burning anger. 

"Its not you I'm mad at Aeris...I just feel like...like maybe I'm wasting my heart" Tifa felt the words sting her heart like those thumbtacks. Aeris remained a statue; only her dress moving and that was due to the breeze. Tifa glanced at her; her eyes locked on her mouth, waiting to see it move. 

"I never asked to come back" Aeris forced out finally, the words barely loud enough to be heard. She balled her hands up and began to fight to keep her tears in. Tifa watched her face shaking and saw the slight shine of sorrow in her eyes. Tifa felt her own water pellets of sorrow forming. 

"I never asked for you to leave" Tifa pulled as much air into her lungs as she possible could. She finally got the courage to look up at her rival and friend. Aeris had just run her coat sleeve under her eyes. Aeris sniffed as she ran the sleeve back once more to make sure all the tears were gone. The coldest blast of wind hit them both. The intense blast had almost knocked both girls over. Then, a loud crack filled the air. Tifa looked all around. 

"What was that?" She called out; her eyes searching for anything that could have possible made the noise. Aeris craned her head upwards and was meet by a raindrop, which splashed right where a dried tear was resting. 

"I think it's gonna storm" Aeris rubbed the spot gently, getting rid of both drops. Tifa felt her hair getting wet from above. Splash after splash hit her brown hair, driving home the point that a storm had indeed come. 

"You think?" Tifa remarked. Deep down inside her, she felt something else burst. It was not some built-up anger or old pains, but a rather pleasant burst. The remains of the burst raced up her throat and spilled out her mouth. Tifa bent over as the giggles fell out of her mouth. Aeris rose an eyebrow at her; rain drops began to run down her face. 

"It's not that funny!" Aeris pouted, stomping a foot. With a tear of laughter in her eye, Tifa glanced at her. The moment Aeris saw Tifa's face, covered in tears and raindrops, her own bubble of giggles broke and soon they were spilling out of her mouth. After a good solid minute of laughing by both of them, the tension that had filled the air was all gone. Instead of tension, the air was full of laughs and rain. Tifa put her hands on her knees as the last few chuckles spilled out. 

"Well that felt good..." Tifa muttered through the last few laughs. The rain was now drenching them. Tifa flipped her hair around so it would not stick to her back. Aeris pushed her wet hair away from her face. 

"Yeah, but this rain sure doesn't..." Aeris wringed her hair out; her wrists turning a few times. Tifa looked towards the town of tents and nodded. 

"Let's head home then. And Aeris-" 

"No need" Aeris stated calmly. Tifa nodded her head as both turned towards the town and began the jog home. 

* * *

Two dark storm clouds collided; their forces caused a bolt of lightning to fill the sky with bright electricity. The light that was born in that burst of storm spread across the night sky, filling it up with a moment of pure day. The momentary light filled up the computer screen, causing Phoenix to narrow his eyes. Once the light died down, he went back to reading, his eyes dancing across the words on the screen. Then, he felt the room shake from thunder. 

"So much I did not know..." Phoenix muttered softly; his eyes kept moving across the screen, absorbing all the words could offer. Then, he watched the screen shake once again from thunder1. And then a second one very quickly. Added in with the second thunder-shock was a mixture of breaking glass. Phoenix spun the chair around and stared at the glass window. Seeing no broken glass from that distance, he stood up and walked to the window. His hand felt the smooth glass. 

"What was-" Another vibration shook the computer, but it came from the opposite direction. He saw three figures through the breaking tinted glass. Phoenix launched himself onto the desk in one leap then jumped towards to the door, throwing his coat off his body.With a quick twist he flung the door open and entered the fray in the hallway. He saw Reeve being held up against a wall by a large man. A smaller man stood to the side. Phoenix sprinted at the smaller man with a burst of energy. The small man turned just in time to give Phoenix a nice target; with two steps Phoenix ran up the man's chest and kicked him in the face. The man's body hit the ground just as Phoenix finished his backflip away from him. The large masked man turned towards the boy, dropping Reeve in the process. 

"Who the fuck are you?" The large man bellowed. When an answer did not come, he ran towards the teenager and swung his huge arm at him. With a lightning quick move, Phoenix arm-dragged the man over him and sent him to the ground. As the large man stumbled to his feet, Phoenix dropkicked him in the face. The masked man would have fallen if his partner had not caught him as he fell backwards. Slowly, both men stared in the direction of their attacker. Then, two storm clouds smashed together and a quick flash of light filled the room. 

"What? You're a fucking kid!" The large man shrugged the smaller man off. The smaller man cracked his knuckles. 

"He got lucky so far! Now we're going to kick his ass!" Then, a silver light broke into the darkness. The light flowed from the boy's extended hand. Reeve put a hand on his lip to check for blood. As he looked at his hand, he saw the red blood covering his fingers. As he twisted his wrist, he noticed that the light, which was letting him see his blood, was a silver tint. The two men now stood side by side, their patience for the boy wearing away. 

"What the hell you doing? Playing with a flashlight?" The large man chuckled a few times. The small man began to stomp towards the boy. Reeve got to his feet; his back could not get close enough to the wall for his comfort. 

"Playtime is over!" The small man spat out. The light was growing though; soon the entire hallway was bathed in the silver glow. Then, the seriousness which was covering the boy's face converged to his lips and turned into a nasty grin. The small man came to a halt; also coming to a halt was the laughing of the large man. 

"Big Bang Attack!" The boy screamed, a giant silver energy attack emitting from his hand. The hallway filled with a bright flash of silver energy, then the ball went flying into the two men. The two men went hurtling backwards; their screams filling the void left behind. One wall was smashed from the combined force of hurtling bodies and the energy attack. As the blast died down, the whole area was filled with darkness once more. Phoenix craned his neck downward. 

"Indeed, it is over" Phoenix turned around and looked at Reeve. Reeve's eyes were as wide as the hole in the wall from the blast. He cowered up against the wall even more. 

"Oh my...! I mean, they told me...but it's incredible!" Reeve said in disbelief. Phoenix nodded once; a quick motion. Then, he looked over his shoulder for a moment. 

"It seems you have some friends" Phoenix noted. In the distance, he heard the some rumbling. The large man pushes away from the wall, not realizing he had left an imprint of his body on the wall. The small man rubbed his forehead with his wrist. 

"Ray, let's fuck off!" Billy screamed; he pushed a rock of his chest. Ray punched the wall as he stood up. 

"Damn, we can't! Remember what Overton..." Ray started, but he trailed off. His body starting shaking. Billy looked at him oddly, then noticed his face was covering in a glowing silver light. Billy spun his head around and looked down the hallway. The boy's body was turned away from them; but his hand was in the air. Silver energy was gathering around it once more. 

"Fuck Overton! I'm not dealing with him!" Billy screamed, scrambling to get away. Ray sprinted behind him. Phoenix let the energy die down from his hand, leaving the whole area in a state of darkness. Reeve took a few steps from the wall now. His lip trembled in anger. 

"Overton...why would they want me dead?" Reeve hissed. Phoenix turned his attention back to Reeve. 

"So, you know those guys?" 

"Not them, but Overton...yeah, I know them. And yeah, I'll tell you about them. But let's get out of here in case those guys come back..I don't want to see this place wrecked more" Reeve looked at the boy. Phoenix nodded once and looked back at the hole. 

"Sorry" He muttered. Reeve chuckled a few times while he dusted his jacket off. 

"Thanks Phoenix. They'd have roughed me up or killed me. I owe you one" Reeve stated. Phoenix made a face. He watched Reeve stepping around slowly in the darkness, walking back towards the doorway. 

"Owe me what?" Phoenix questioned, crossing his arms. Reeve bent down and searched for his keys, which he had dropped when the men jumped him. His hand bounces around the ground, hoping to find them. 

"Owe you...well, something you want that I can do. Besides the information; consider that free" Reeve smirked at him; not looking at the search for the keys. Phoenix looked at the hole in the wall and nodded. 

"Understood" Phoenix calmly replied. Reeve finally grabbed the keys. He let out a sigh and grabbed his briefcase. Looking inside the open door to his office, he say the boy's jacket laying there. Reeve yanked the jacket off the ground, nearly falling over. 

"What the hell? Do you carry bricks in your pockets or something" Reeve shouted in disbelief. Phoenix turned his attention to Reeve. 

"It's not that heavy" Was all he said. Reeve tossed the jacket to the boy, who caught it and threw it back on his body with a few quick motions. With a shrug of his shoulders, the jacket fell perfectly over him. Phoenix looked back at the hole in the wall. 

"So what are they doing about Midgar?" Phoenix inquired. Reeve put a finger up to his lips before noticing the boy's attention was elsewhere. 

"I'll tell you when we get to my apartment. I don't feel safe discussing it here" Reeve mentioned. Phoenix began to look around when a flash of lightning filled the room once more. He saw all the cracks in the glass in Reeve's door. 

"I can see why" Phoenix muttered. Reeve nodded and walked past Phoenix and towards the hole. He put a hand on the new edge and pushed himself through the hole. 

"Come on; you can read those files too. But you can't blow a hole in the wall" Reeve mentioned. Phoenix let out laugh; he had no idea why, but he did. 

"Very well" Phoenix walked behind him a few steps, then hopped through the hole with ease. Reeve grabbed a stray umbrella and pushed the door open. Opening the umbrella as he walked out, Reeve glanced back at Phoenix. 

"That was pretty amazing. I mean, how fast you move" Reeve watched the boy walk out and look up into the rain. The boy took a few steps away from the wall and glanced upwards. Reeve made a face. 

"Yeah, so-" Reeve began. Then, his eyes went wide in shock; the boy jumped at the wall, but instead of falling backwards or straight-down, he kicked straight up. As he neared the wall, his boots kicked off the wall and went higher again. A few more kick-jumps off the wall and the boy stopped on a ledge; the ledge not big enough to hold a flower pot. After he bent down and grabbed a garbage bag which was tied up there, he back-flipped off the wall, landing in the middle of the road. Reeve's face just shook; his eyes un-able to go back to normal. The boy ripped the bag off his backpack and flung it on his shoulders. 

"What were you saying?" Phoenix asked. Reeve just shook his head and began to walk down the street. Phoenix jogged up behind him, just barely getting under the umbrella. 

"What were you saying?" Phoenix repeated. Reeve let out a laugh and slowed his steps down. He held the umbrella high enough for the boy to get under. But Phoenix stopped a few feet behind him. The boy's body remained still, but Reeve saw his eyes move from side to side, despite the streams of rain-water running down them. 

"Why did you stop; there is no danger here" Phoenix muttered. His eyes stopped moving when they were focused on Reeve. 

"You're gonna get soaked. You want to walk under the umbrella?" Reeve tilted his head slightly. The boy sharply shook his head to the sides. Reeve sighed and started walking again. Phoenix followed behind him, kicking up rain whenever his foot hit a puddle. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

* * *

The butterflies glided through the air in pairs; their flight much like a perfected ballet dance. Groups of bees gathered around blooming flowers; working hard to extract nectar from the flowers for food. A pair of birds sang in a tree. The notes of their tune swished and swirled through the air, giving it a certain level of harmony. The soft sun and gentle breeze kept the nasty storm clouds at bay. A few nice white clouds danced across the sky effortlessly. 

"So peaceful" Tifa let the words float from her mouth. The grass felt welcoming under her back. The butterflies waltzed over her view; it was like a painting come to life for Tifa. Once they finished their dance for her and moved on, Tifa was able to get a good look at the sky. The tender blue went perfect with the occasional spot of white in the sky. She heard a pair of footsteps. They trampled on the grass as they moved towards her location. Tifa sat up and smiled. 

"Hey Cloud. Glad you could join me" Tifa winked at him and patted the grass next to her. Cloud looked right into her eyes. 

"I'm not sure" He remarked. Tifa blinked a few times. She stopped her hand from patting and moved it onto her lap. Tifa's eyes stopped closing but remained narrow. Her lips trembled as she spoke. 

"You're not sure...about sitting?" Tifa's words were filled with nervousness. Cloud did not allow a smile nor a grin on his face; he left it blank. 

"I'm not sure about you" The words silenced the birds, who flew off into the horizon. The sun must have seen the threatening storm approaching; it quickly went into hiding behind a cloud. Tifa felt her jaw growing heavy. 

"What aren't you sure about?" Tifa questioned. In the distance, a crack of thunder could be heard. The soft white clouds began to retreat in the face of this storm. The butterflies floated to the ground; their dance was being cancelled by oncoming rain. Cloud's face remained solid. 

"I'm not sure if I need you anymore" The words acted like a work whistle; the bees quickly stopped work and rushed for home. The dark clouds were getting closer and closer now. Tifa fell backwards onto the grass again and stared up into the dark abyss. The grass seemed sharper now; the welcome mat was gone.No white clouds nor blue sky remained in the air. 

"Why do you say that?" Tifa twitched from side to side; the knives of grass stabbing into her. Cloud bent his neck like a hawk and glared down at her. His face was still set in stone. 

"I have Aeris now" Cloud finally broke into a smile. But if his words were daggers to the heart, the smile was a fifty-foot sword to her body. Tifa's face was soon covered in water and the rain had yet to fall. But except for her eyes pushing tears onto her, Tifa's face was set in stone. Then, the sky opened up. Rain poured from clouds. Thunder booms filled the sky. Tifa just lay motionless; her eyes could see nothing but water. The rain covered her face but even the bucket-fulls of water could wash her tears away. 

"Get up Tifa! Get up!" Cloud screamed suddenly. Tifa closed her eyes to dam up the tears, but they kept breaking through. 

"Get up Tifa!" She heard again. But she refused to open her eyes; her entire face felt soaking wet. She wanted to clamp her eyes shut and never open them again. 

"Get up Tifa" The voice was no longer Cloud's; it sounded distinctly female. Tifa still kept her eyes shut. Then, the person grabbed her and shook her body... 

* * *

"Get up Tifa!" Aeris screamed. Tifa's eyes jolted open quickly. Her body thrust upwards, knocking Aeris backwards and onto her butt. Tifa shook her head, sending water flying off in all directions. Tifa's wet hair spun around when she faced Aeris. 

"What? Aeris..!" Tifa glanced at her; a look begging for answers on her face. Aeris sighed and frowned. 

"Sorry, I threw a bucket of water on you...something big happened!" Aeris screamed. Tifa made a face. She took her hands and knocked some water-droplets off her face. 

"What's so important that I needed a bucket-bath?" Tifa groaned as she grabbed her hair and rung it out. She looked at Aeris and waited for the answer. Tifa just kept looking at Aeris, waiting for the answer. Tifa's wringing motion got more deliberate every moment the answer did not come. 

"Aeris...come on, what's going on...?" Tifa asked again. Aeris got to her feet and looked down at Tifa. She then glanced over her shoulder to outside the tent. 

"We got a problem...the group that went to Midgar came back. Well, part of the group..." Aeris trailed off. Tifa let her hair go and got to her feet in a flash. She reached over and grabbed her left shoe. Hopping around, she pulled it on and jammed the laces in the sides. With a quick motion the other shoe was in her hand. After a few more hops, the right shoe was on her foot. 

"Let's roll..." Tifa muttered as she headed outside the tent with Aeris. 

* * *

"So, you do act like a normal teenager now and then!" Reeve crowed loudly. Phoenix's eyes shoot open as he looked upwards. Reeve was standing there, holding the newspaper. Looking like any normal slacking teenager, Phoenix had one leg hanging off the couch and his arm hooked onto the couch. Covering his mouth, he added a yawn into the atmosphere before leaning upwards and stretching his body. 

"I have never slept on something this...what's the word...soft?" Phoenix looked up at Reeve. Reeve chuckled and walked into the kitchen of his apartment. 

"It's a couch. And an old one at that. What; you never slept on a bed before?" Reeve questioned. He snatched the coffee pot away from its resting spot and poured some of the dark liquid into a cup. 

"I never slept indoors before. Unless you count when I slept under the a tent-like structure on a boat" Phoenix got to his feet and leaned backwards. Reeve added some sugar to his coffee before taking a sip. After a quick sip, he pulled his lips away. 

"You lead an interesting life. I'm going to find out more about "Operation Midgar" today. I assume" Reeve sat on a dining room chair. Phoenix just looked at the window. A few pellets of water bounced off the glass. But beyond that, neither of them could see the clouds; the dense fog was almost like someone had laid a blanket over the city of Junon. 

"It's a dead city, filled with dead buildings and dead streets" Phoenix commented. Reeve shook his head before daring to drink his coffee again. Now that it was a tad cooler, the coffee was much more bearable on the taste buds. Reeve took a few quick sips before putting the cup down. 

"They feel differently. Plus, we could use some of the raw materials there. I wanna see what Overton says today" Reeve noted. Phoenix's eyes narrowed as his neck craned to look at Reeve. 

"The man who sent the attackers? Is he against you in politics?" Phoenix looked back at the window when the words finished leaving his mouth. Reeve made a face as he leaned on the kitchen counter. 

"Two Overtons, actually. Jiro Overton is more....how do we say, slimy. He would never send assassins after me, though. Especially since he agreed with me on keeping our people out of Midgar. Dallin...yeah, he'd try to have me killed. Dallin is pretty bold" Reeve explained. He took a spoon and swirled his coffee around. Phoenix walked over to the window and looked down into the foggy city below. 

"So shall we take him out now?" Phoenix remarked. Reeve held his cup at his lips, blinking at the boy. 

"Are you nuts? I have no idea who really did it! I mean, the Overton name is fairly well known. Anyone could have said they were working for Overton. I want to find out more before I do anything. Let alone fighting them" Reeve explained. Phoenix let out a deep breathe; the moist air he let out coated the glass with a fog of its own. 

"Destroying an enemy means you survive" Phoenix stated calmly. Reeve finished his coffee and tossed the mug in the sink. 

"Phoenix, lets say we do kill Overton; both of them. They have friends, who will come after us. Besides, its against the law to kill others. Realistically, you should be in jail for what you did...sorry, but its the truth. It's just wrong to kill people" Reeve took a step back and leaned against the wall for protection. Phoenix merely rubbed his hand over his fog. 

"Perhaps you are correct" Phoenix drew a circle in his fog. Reeve walked over to his wall and pulled a dull painting away from it. After a few twists, his safe popped open and he had grabbed a laptop from inside. He walked over to the kitchen counter and opened it up. 

"Well, I made a deal with you. You can look up anything you want about yourself on here" Reeve mentioned. Phoenix tilted his head and gazed at the fog slowly fading into nothingness. When there was nothing left but a few thumb prints, he turned and walked over to Reeve. 

"Very well. There is a much I wish to find out" Phoenix sat down on a chair and instantly began typing on the computer. Reeve glanced at him for a moment then walked over to the door. 

"Pay attention; someone may come here looking to knock me out. I doubt it, but you never know" Reeve mentioned. Phoenix stopped typing a moment and looked over at Reeve. The look on his face made Reeve's blood freeze. The look could have stopped a food fight or perhaps even end a war. Reeve coughed a few times. 

"Yeah, guess you'll be fine even if people show up" Reeve nervously spun around and grabbed the doorknob. He reached down and snatched his briefcase up. 

"Alright, bye..!" Reeve opened the door and closed it in a moment's notice. Phoenix kept staring at the doorway and shook his head. 

"It takes all kinds" Phoenix entered into the world of computer files; a world that held whatever information there was about him. A world he had wanted to see for a very long time. 

* * *

Except for the rain and a few dumb animals caught outside, the town of Kalm seemed to have shut down for the day. The rain, the same one causing all the noise, had forced people to their temporary tent-homes instead of working on their new homes. The rain clouds never seemed to leave Kalm alone; always clouding over the city with dark intentions. Then two pair of feet broke the silence as they splashed into the mud puddles along the road. 

"We almost there?" Tifa asked; she felt her hair sticking to her back more and more. Aeris put a hand up to block out the rainfall. 

"We're almost there, don't worry. I'm getting soaked too" Aeris reminded her. Tifa crossed her arms and ran even harder, getting up right behind Aeris. 

"Any idea what's going on?" Tifa ducked her head down more in a vain attempt to get out of the rain. 

"We're about to find out..." Aeris trailed off as they reached the newest tent in town; it had been built only a day before. Aeris opened the plastic thin doorway and held the flaps open for Tifa. Within an instant, Cloud was in front of both of them. His face was covered in lines of worry. 

"They need your help Aeris" He stated in a shaky voice. A shade of grim covered Aeris' face. With a few quick steps, she went around him and over to the group of people. Tifa looked even more confused now; she grabbed Cloud's shirt and shook him. 

"What's going on?" Tifa eyes locked onto Cloud's. Cloud gently put his hands on her wrists. 

"Something attacked them in Midgar" Cloud let the words roll off his tongue. He watched as her lip trembled; her little fingers let go of his shirt. 

"Something...not someone?" Tifa spoke in a slow manner; as if to make sure she said the proper words. Her ring fingers began to loosen their grip on his shirt. 

"Yeah...I'm didn't get the exacts yet, but it seems they broke up into two groups of four to search around. Well, we have no idea what happened to the other group. But this group ran into some kind of monster. Tommy J is all hysterical; I really can't find out much from him" Cloud explained to her. As the last words left his mouth, he felt the rest of her left hand let go of his shirt. Cloud let her left arm go and keep looking at her. Tifa looked to the left of him; staring at nothing. 

"I thought you said the city was empty..." Tifa hissed; her right hand forming a clamp on his shirt. He placed both his hands on her right wrist and massaged it; a weak attempt to get her to break the hold. 

"It was empty. The parts I went into. Plus that was awhile ago; over a month-" 

"They are suppose to be gone! No more Mako plants- no more Shinra. So hence, there are no monsters!" Tifa pushed him away and walked back outside into the storm. Drop after heavy drop fell onto her hair, darkening her brown hair. Cloud let a few seconds pass before he stormed out into the rain. 

"So its my fault?" Cloud screamed loudly. Tifa stopped walking, the rain rushing down her face. She stomped around and glared at him. Her brown eyes seemed to have a red glow. 

"Its someone's fault! Monsters are not born! They are made!" Tifa screamed. Cloud bite his tongue in a quick attempt to calm down. 

"I know that...look, Midgar is...was a huge town. Some monsters were bound to live" Cloud explained. Tifa's eyes went wide as she laughed in disbelief. 

"Remember Meteor? Unless you were buried under the city, you were burnt!" Tifa screamed. Cloud shrugged his shoulders in his own arrogant way and looked at her. 

"So what? So a monster just got into the city or someone is making them-" 

"Someone is again making monsters! Someone is again messing with genetics! Why can't people leave it alone? I guess Sephiroth wasn't a good enough example!" Tifa threw her arms into the air. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breathe. Cloud crossed his arms as the cold rain poured down his face. 

"Tifa, we're not positive it was a monster. We need to talk to the survivors and find out" Cloud tried his best to stay calm. He felt the rain cooling him down. Tifa pushed her damp hair out of her face and let out a sigh. 

"Cloud, I know what's going to happen. There will be a monster. And you'll wanna go fight it. And I'll go, and Aeris will go. And we'll go off and fight this monster..." Tifa trailed off. Cloud walked over to her and looked down. All he saw was a mass of wet brown hair. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly. 

"And we'll kill it. What's with you? You use to slice through monster after monster. You stood up to WEAPON. You stood up against Sephiroth and gave him the proverbial middle finger! Hell, you did that twice! And now you're afraid of some normal monster?" Cloud chided her. Tifa lifted her head up to look at him. Her faced looked pain and was covered in rain and misery. 

"I'm sick of fighting..." Tifa murmured. Cloud griped her shoulder even tighter; not letting a single drop slide between his hands and her arms. 

"I am too. I am too" 

* * *

"You're sure this plan is going to work well?" Billy pushed the crowbar back and forth, the motion pressing the door farther from the framework. Ray lifted his glasses of his twitching nose. . 

"Yeah; we just sneak in and wait. You almost got it?" Ray glanced around and looked for any residents of the apartment building. When he saw none, he tapped his partner on the shoulder. After a few more pressing motions from the crowbar, a 'pop' sound filled the air. 

"Almost? Ha" Billy gently pressed the door open and walked into the apartment. Ray cracked his knuckles. 

"As soon as he gets home, we knock him out. Then we get our cash and head for Gold Saucer. And start over" Ray mentioned. He pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his pocket and slide them on his fingers then stopped by the couch, scanning the apartment for signs of life. Billy did a little warm-up dance, much like a boxer. He threw a couple of punches, knocking the air molecules out. 

"Yeah. Wonder if that punk kid will be there too. He got lucky last night; no darkness to help him this time" Billy stopped his little dance after he threw his knock-out punch. 

"Wonder where he went to?" Ray placed his hands on his chin. After a quick twist of those wrists, the sound of his neck cracking filled the room. 

"Under the couch" Both men looked down at once; their eyes looking like china dishes. The ground was bare except for a roaming dust bunny. They glanced at each other as they leaned upwards. Then, from no where, a metal staff slammed into the side of their faces, knocking them into the wall. 

"Now, I'm standing in front of you" Phoenix remarked. Ray pushed off the wall with his brass-knuckled hand. 

"Son of a bitch!" Ray screamed as he punched right at the boy. In a flash, Phoenix's body bent backwards; the punched sailed over his body. Ray pulled his arm back and glared at the boy, who leaned upwards with ease. With a quick snap of his wrist, Phoenix knocked the man to the ground with staff. Billy took his chance now, throwing a punch at the boy's face. But the fist never hit the face; instead it meet Phoenix's left hand. The palm grasped onto the fist and squeezed. The fist was rolled downwards, emitting a sick cracking sound. Within a second, another loud crack filled the air as the staff slammed into the man's face, sending him on top of his partner. Phoenix jumped over the couch and held his wrist down at them. 

"You will not come back again, or I will end your existence" The silver glow from his fist filled the men's eyes. Like a jolt of electricity hit them, the men screamed and scrambled out the door. Phoenix let the energy die down once they were gone. The staff collapsed downward, almost disappearing from view. His eyes locked onto the doorway. After a tentative step forward, he stopped his body. With a mumble and a few shakes of his head, he turned away from the door and walked back to the computer. From a distance, the words seemed small and insignificant. As he sat back down, he noticed the words still seemed small. And maybe even more insignificant. 

"The files can wait" 

* * *

"Look at it! It's so deep" The small boy looked down at the little lake at his feet. The girl standing next to him picked up a twig and poked the rain puddle with it. 

"I know! Like...maybe twenty feet deep!" She squealed in delight, despite the fact her old tattered rain jacket was allowing water to soak her skin. She poked the puddle with the twig; the murky puddle allowed the twig a few inches into the pool. 

"Maybe even fifty feet!" The boy laughed, picking up his own stick and plunging it into the dirty little puddle. Both kids were ignorant to the large amount of dampness their clothes were gathering; the fun they were having at the puddle cancelled out the rain. 

"Kids, move aside" Came a voice, destroying their fun. The girl ran to the side without even looking for the voice. The boy stood up and pushed his chest out. His mouth opened to reply, but he soon cowered and stepped aside. Both children watched as six men walked right through their puddle. Their feet trampled through the mud with ease; for the large puddle they had killed they helped create numerous small ones in its wake. The only sound was the rain splashing off the oak casket the men carried. The boy and girl watched in silence; they now felt the dampness in their clothes now. From a muddy hillside, Aeris watched this all happen. She dove her hands into the mud puddle in front of her, letting the red on her hands wash in the brown dirty water. But her eyes were locked onto the casket. And except for the tears in her eyes, it was all she could see. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

* * *

"So, that's what you think, do you Reeve?" Reeve stared out his bay window; the storm clouds were flying directly over his office. 

"That is indeed what I think" Reeve spun his chair around to face the voice; the chair emitted a terrible shriek as its base twisted. Even with the lights off and the dark clouds above, Reeve could make out the two figures sitting across from him. 

"Well, what if you're wrong" It was not a question; it was a statement. The man to Reeve's left shifter a bit; his deep red hair the only color standing out in the room. 

"It's not like it could be any worse for me, no?" Reeve questioned. The other man cracked his knuckles; any light coming into the room bounced of his clean, bald head. 

"Perhaps" Reeve glanced at bald man while he spoke, to see if any more words would come. None did. The bald man craned his neck to the left; the cracking sound filled the room even more than his knuckles' cracking had. When the echo of the cracking died down, Reeve turned his attention to the other man. This man merely shrugged as he tossed some kind of stick from hand to hand; without a good deal more light what the stick was could not be made out. Reeve spun around again, despite the protests of his chair. He messed his hands together and tried to find a comfortable way to lock his fingers together. He stared down at his hands, hoping they could give him an answer. Then suddenly, for the second day in a row, something smashed into his door. And for the second day in a row, it was a human being. Although this time, it was not him. And this time, the person went through the door. By the time Reeve had sprung to his feet and gotten his eyes focused on the door, the other two men were out of there seats, glaring at the doorway. 

"Damnit Elena, what's going on?" Reno kicked his chair over. His nightstick was on; the ends flickering with electricity. Rude, while keeping his eyes focused on the doorway, knelt down next to Elena. 

"Elena, get up. Turks never show weakness" Rude stood up and dropped into his boxing stance, looking at the doorway. Then, a familiar silver glow began to fill the area. It broke open the darkness which had been in the room. Across the hallway stood Phoenix, his silver energy flowing from him with a certain amount of grace. 

"What the hell is that?" Reno spat out. Reeve ran in front of his desk, waving his arms frantically. 

"Stop it Phoenix; they're on our side!" Reeve quickly screamed out. Rude watched as the light formed around a figure. 

"No matter who this is; no one disrespects a Turk" Rude's tone was all together calm and fierce at once. Phoenix tilted his head slightly. 

"I believe that it just happened" Phoenix's voice held a touch of taunt in it. Reno let out a snort. 

"Kid, you just tangled with a rookie. Now you gotta deal with two real Turks!" Reno spun his nightstick around in his hand. Elena let out a few deep coughs, then got to her feet. 

"Stop calling me a rookie! Besides, he snuck up on me" Elena dropped into a defensive position. Reeve pushed Elena aside and stood in front of the Turks, looking at Phoenix. 

"They're here to help me, not fight me! Trust me here, ok?" Reeve pleaded, his arms waving around at his sides like two windmills. Rude took a step up next to Reeve, his body still in a boxing stance. 

"And this is the guy who fought those amateurs?" Rude kept his eyes dead-locked on the boy. Reeve looked behind him at the other two Turks; he knew from their expressions that anything less than a fight would not be reasonable to them. He looked over at Rude. 

"Rude, look, he's helped me out in the past. Plus he can be useful" Reeve mentioned. He noticed that the room was getting darker; Phoenix had powered down slightly. 

"Explain how. He looks like a decent athlete, but no more than a teenager" Rude kept his posture up. Reno spit to the side and grinned. 

"He's a kid; we'll chew him up and spit him up" Reno spun his nightstick around a bit faster now, nearly avoiding shocking himself each time it neared him. Reeve let out a chuckle. 

"You guys know...this is that kid, who was causing all that trouble" Reeve mentioned with caution. His body was shaking; he did not know if those words would trigger a small war or end the threat of a fight. 

"The person who burnt Kalm, attacked AVALANCHE in broad daylight here...how'd you end up with him Reeve" Rude felt his jaw look in place. 

"Look, just everyone cool it! We got enough problems with other people!" Reeve screamed. He spun around in circles, looking at everyone in a vain attempt to keep the peace. 

"You're the one with problems Reeve" Reno mentioned harshly. Phoenix let out a tense breath. 

"Very well. I will not attack" Phoenix kept his face straight; his body not moving a single inch. Rude calmly turned to the other Turks. 

"Drop your guard...for now" Rude's voice was colder than a mountain top's breeze. Despite his order, no one dropped their guard. Reeve's body began to tremble; he felt his stomach doing more twists and turns than an acrobat. 

"Come on guys! Look, it was a misunderstanding! He didn't know who Elena was! And I'm sure if he did, he would not have attacked her!" Reeve screamed out. Phoenix nodded his head once in a very slow and deliberate manner. 

"Indeed. It took a great effort to do it. I had to wait until she yawned" Phoenix spoke calmly. Reno made a face. 

"He caught you on a yawn?" Reno turned to Elena, whose face was showered in deep red. 

"He's fast, ok? Really fast!" Elena screamed out. Reno howled with laughter. 

"You got punked by some kid?" Reno forced out before his laughing went into overdrive. Rude finally moved; his neck twisted slightly to turn to look at Reno. Then, he felt something against the side of his face. Rude tried to move his face, but he could not. Phoenix held his staff against his face firmly. Reeve felt his heart about to rip free from his body. Phoenix smirked coldly. 

"If I meant to fight you, I'd have won by now" Phoenix explained. Rude pushed the staff out of his face. 

"Not a mere teenager, I see" Rude hissed. Reno spun his nightstick around, a sneer on his face. 

"I'd like to see you try that shit on me!" Reno screamed. Phoenix hesitated not in the least; he sprinted at Reno, his staff at his side. As he approached, Reno went to attack with his nickstick. In a heartbeat, Phoenix stopped dead and back-flipped away. Before either could make another move, Reeve jumped into between them. 

"That's enough!" Reeve's words were forced; they carried his nervousness with them. Reeve turned to Reno first, sensing his ambitions to start a battle. Reno let out a quick laugh. 

"Yeah, he got some skill. We won't beat him to a pulp...now" Reno kept spinning his nightstick around. Satisfied with his answer, Reeve turned to Phoenix. Phoenix shrugged and nodded backwards. 

"The bald one was about to attack me. They are skilled" He mentioned. Rude, despite himself, smiled the world's smallest smile. 

"This punk may be worthwhile" 

* * *

"The others may all be dead" Tifa looked up at Cloud. A deep fog had covered the city of Kalm. Mixed together with the night sky, the fog made it nearly impossible to see anything. Cloud ran a hand over his spiked-hair. 

"I'm aware of that. We know...Aeris tried her best" Cloud remarked. Tifa closed her eyes and nodded. 

"She did; she did. We know something fishy is going on in Midgar...well, what's left of Midgar..." Tifa opened her eyes and looked through the dense fog into Cloud's blue eyes. She knew what he wanted to say. Anyone could. Tifa held her hand up. 

"I know Cloud...you wanna call Cid or should I?" Tifa asked. Cloud shook his head. He let out a deep breath and crossed his arms. 

"We got to leave soon. The others...we can't afford to wait for them to get here. We need to get into the city as soon as possible. Plus, really...between us, we can handle a monster or two. I mean, it's not like Weapon" Cloud explained calmly. Tifa watched a grin grow on his face. Tifa sighed and nodded, feeling a smile grow on her face as well. 

"Alright then. We leave tomorrow...what about Aeris?" Tifa asked. Cloud shrugged his patented shrug. 

"If she wants to come, sure. We can use her. She may be able to pick up the bad vibes from the monster too" Cloud explained. Tifa nodded and let out a sigh. 

"I hope she feels better...I mean, she could only do so much" Tifa put her hands under her chin. Cloud kneeled down. 

"Maybe you should go talk to her" Cloud spoke in a low voice. Tifa tilted her head; the fog seemed to thicken around his features. 

"Why me...why don't you go talk to her?" Tifa took her head off her hands. She pushed her hands together and knotted her fingers up. Cloud reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. 

"I can't...I'm not good at that stuff. Plus you two are obviously close" Cloud mentioned, gripping her shoulder with his hand. Tifa closed her eyes. 

"Sure Cloud, I'll go talk to her now. That way, we can head out early tomorrow morning. You wanna go find us some chocobos to get there?" Tifa commented. Cloud smacked her shoulder and straightened out. 

"Yeah, I'll go ask around. People are freaked about the monster-stories. They're gonna beg us to go if we don't" Cloud stretched a moment, then held his hand down to Tifa. 

"Thanks" Tifa muttered as she grabbed his hand and let herself be pulled up. Cloud grinned and waved to her. 

"I'll see you back at the tent" Cloud walked off into the fog; the mixture of fog and darkness covering him. After a few moments, he disappeared from her view. Tifa turned towards the hillside she suspected Aeris was still sitting. She took a few steps before stopping. She jabbed her toe in the ground. 

"What the hell..." With that, she turned around and headed back towards their tent. 

* * *

"So they came back?" Reeve asked. His body was still shaking but not as badly as before. He glanced out at the room. In the two chairs in front of his desk sat Rude and Reno. Reno was still messing with his nightstick. Rude sat motionless; if he was grey he'd be a statue. In the back of the room, near the doorway, Elena leaned on the doorway. Reeve twisted his chair to the left and looked at Phoenix, who was leaning against the wall right next to the window. Elena leaned off the doorframe and glanced out the cracked window. 

"Shouldn't someone be watching for people?" Elena interrupted. Reno snorted and tapped his nightstick on the desk. 

"I'd like to see some dumbasses come in here. Between us and that punk, that's last about ten seconds" Reno declared, stretching outwards. Reeve spun his chair back around to face the Turks. 

"He got a point Elena. Anyways Phoenix, do you think they'll come here?" Reeve asked Phoenix without turning to him. Phoenix tapped his foot off the wall; his eyes looking out at the streets of Junon. 

"I doubt it. They realize I'm around. And they realize I can stop them. If they have common sense, they'd cease attacking you" Phoenix explained. 

"Money will delete all common sense. Besides, if they need money bad enough to assassinate a public figure...they'll come back" Rude spoke; his lips were the only part of his mouth that moved. 

"So you saw them, right Phoenix...that's your name, right?" Elena commented. Phoenix glanced over at Elena and nodded once. 

"Yes, but only briefly" Phoenix turned his attention back to the window. Reno slammed his nightstick on the desk. 

"Why don't we just send silver-boy there out of town and catch them when they come for Reeve? Then we ask them questions, Turk-style" Reno suggested. 

"Easier said then done. It's not like we can tell them he's gone" Rude stated calmly. Everyone grew quiet in the room, as if a teacher had scolded a classroom. Reeve leaned back in his chair and spun around to face Phoenix. 

"Perhaps we can" Reeve said to Phoenix. Phoenix crossed his arms, his gaze still set outside. 

"How is that?" Phoenix questioned. Reeve smirked and spun his chair around slowly as he spoke. 

"It's simple. See, we got to pick people to go research Midgar. You know, a small group. So all I gotta do is suggest they send Phoenix here. Face it, we all know about that problem history. They'll love to get rid of him. And if I mention that he's helped me fight off those attackers, it will clue in whoever is really doing this that Phoenix will be gone. And naturally....they'll send there goons again" Reeve explained, finally stopping his chair, facing the Turks. 

"That's rather brilliant Reeve" Rude stated. He finally moved; his arms moved with great ease across his chest. Reno smacked his nightstick on the desk once more; this time even harder. 

"Now we're cooking!" Reno screamed loudly. Elena just shook her head. 

"If you think it'll work..." She spoke in a soft, broken voice. Grinning, Reeve spun around to face Phoenix. 

"And once you get there, you can find more data on yourself" Reeve told him. Phoenix leaned off the wall and glared at all of them. He felt all four sets of eyes on him. 

"Very well" 

* * *

"You're going to get a cold out here" Aeris peeled her face away from her wet jacket. She let out a small gasp and looked to her left; Tifa stood there with her arms crossed behind her back. 

"Probably..." Aeris let her word trail off her tongue; the sound could barely be heard above the soft hum of the raindrops. The dampness had not left Kalm yet, but it was dying down. Tifa took the blanket from one of her hands and draped it over Aeris' wet shoulders. 

"Don't this to yourself. Don't you dare" Tifa murmured. Aeris grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself in it. 

"I could have-" 

"No, you couldn't have. Or you would have. You're too good to mess up" Tifa interrupted harshly. Aeris' body shook as the words entered her brain and bounces around. Aeris gripped the blanket even tighter now; shielding away the rain and coldness that was trying to cover her. 

"It was the first time I tried to heal someone that damaged...well, no it wasn't" Aeris suddenly remembered. Tifa blinked a few times. 

"I don't recall any of us being that badly injured" Tifa mentioned. Aeris shook her head once. Only the occasional raindrop hit either of them now. Aeris felt a faint smile blossom on her face. 

"After I came back...I found Phoenix laying, near dead, outside Icicle Inn. Sephiroth had tried to kill him, I suppose. I healed him though" Aeris stated. Tifa looked down at her mud-splattered legs. 

"Why did we let him go? He is dangerous. He did some terrible things" Tifa felt her heart beating faster at the thought of the boy. Aeris gulped hard. 

"I know you may not care...he had no idea what he was really doing. Deep down, he's got a good heart. That's why he stopped Sephiroth" Aeris explained with a twinge of nervousness. Tifa flicked a piece of dry mud of her leg. 

"If he didn't show up, we'd have never had to deal with Sephiroth again" Tifa then flicked another piece of dry mud off her leg. Aeris felt a cold rain-sting hit her. 

"I'd still be dead" Aeris calmly stated. Tifa looked over at her and sighed sadly. 

"I know Aeris. It's wonderful having you back, really..." Tifa trailed off. She turned away and went back to flicking pieces of mud of her legs. Aeris watched her flick a few pieces of mud off before grabbing her wrist. 

"I'm the princess. And you're the hooker" Aeris forced out. Tifa twisted her wrist free and looked into her eyes. 

"It's not just that...you're a good person. No, a great person. You died to save this planet before. But what if we hadn't stopped Sephiroth? Getting you back for a day would not have been worth the whole planet dying" Tifa explained. Aeris leaned back away from her. 

"I agree...that is in the past now, though. I'd like to not dwell on it. But I know you're right" Aeris looked up at the cloud-filled sky and winced when a lone raindrop splashed her nose. 

"So you think Phoenix is gonna cause more trouble?" Tifa asked as she went back to her attack on the mud. Aeris shook her head without delay. 

"No. I don't think he ever meant to. You gotta realize, he had no understanding of basic stuff. He had no idea why killing was wrong. Deep down, all he wanted was a family" Aeris claimed. Tifa stopped in mid-flick and looked at Aeris. 

"So he burnt this whole town down, killed materia dealers, nearly killed Yuffie and nearly burnt that town down, brought back Sephiroth, and you're saying all he wanted was family?" Tifa's eyes were wide; they held a mixture of disbelief and anger. Aeris took a deep breathe. 

"I told you, he had no real idea the damage he was doing...trust me Tifa, please..." Aeris' voice was beginning to catch. Tifa felt the anger drain from her eyes. 

"You really think of him as your brother" Tifa tilted her hair slightly. Aeris coughed twice, covering her mouth with her hands. After she cleared her voice, her eyes narrowed and lips curled together. 

"He is my brother" Aeris stated with a clear voice. Tifa stood up and smacked Aeris' shoulder gently. 

"I got something else for you" Tifa walked off a few steps, going down the hill. She stopped near a tree and lifted what appeared to be a branch off the side of the tree. But then a small bit of moonlight bounced of the metal of the staff, catching Aeris' eye. 

"So you kept it" Aeris felt a smile growing on her face. Tifa tossed the staff through the air; Aeris snatched it from mid-air with ease with one hand. 

"Well...we couldn't bear to get rid of it. You seemed so happy when you found it...didn't get to keep it long. So yeah, we kept it" Tifa explained. Aeris gripped the staff tightly in her two hands. She pushed it away from her, looking it all over. The smile grew on her face; her eyes lighting up like fireflies. 

"You even kept my materia in there. My Cure, my Fire, my Ice, my Lightning, my Barrier, plus the few All Materia I had" Aeris kept examining the staff. Tifa let out a chuckle. 

"I'm glad we did now...thanks to Sephiroth, not much materia left" Tifa commented after her chuckle ended. Aeris nodded her head and looked up at her. 

"Maybe that's for the best. The planet was growing weaker. With the materia back in it, maybe it will grow stronger" Aeris noted. Tifa felt a few solemn drops of rain hit her again. 

"We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We better get some rest" Tifa mentioned, turning back away from Aeris and beginning to go down the hillside. 

"You never liked being thanked" Aeris called out as her eyes went back to the staff. Tifa stopped at the bottom of the hill and glanced over her shoulder at her friend. Aeris smiled gratefully at her. 

"Your welcome" Tifa waved at her and jogged back towards the tent. Aeris let out a content sigh and stood up. She dusted her legs off with a few quick swats of her hands. She wrapped the blanket around her body and jogged down the hillside herself. 

* * *

"You're sure you wanna do this?" Reeve asked. Phoenix craned his neck around and glared at Reeve. 

"For the sixth time, yes. I want to go to Midgar. You suggested it. I agreed. Why would I not want to go?" Phoenix questioned in an annoyed tone. He turned back to his backpack and zipped it closed. Reeve tapped his foot off the runway. 

"I just kinda backed you into it. That's all" Reeve explained. Phoenix rose his eyebrows but kept looking at his backpack. 

"I require more information about myself. You say it is in Midgar. Plus, then you can get the Turks to find your enemies. It works out for all parties involved" Phoenix explained. Reeve looked at the two helicopters on the runway. The bright morning sun shining off the motionless metal blades. A group of eleven men, all dressed in military fatigues, were gathered around the helicopters, sipping on cups of coffee. 

"I'm assuming you know, you have to pretend to be on the mission with the others until you get there" Reeve crossed his arms. Phoenix put his backpack on his shoulders, his eyes on the group. After a moment, he spun on his heel and faced Reeve. 

"I have fought, in clear daylight, in Junon. How did you get clearance for me to go on this mission?" Phoenix's eyes narrowed at him. Reeve took a deep breathe as he took a long step backwards. He felt a chill run down his spine, despite the warm breeze rolling over his body. 

"I took care of it, ok? Let's just say that, in my position, I can call in favors" Reeve explained. Phoenix shook his head then turned to the helicopters. He began to march towards them, his steps echoing off the runway. 

"This will be easy. I was in that city a few weeks ago. There was nothing left but dust and debris" Reeve heard before the helicopters' blades starting to move around; the motors grinding away on both vehicles. Reeve watched the boy march towards the group; then watched as the group parted to the sides, not wanting to get in his way. The group of scouts, all trained soldiers, watched this boy as if a time bomb walked past them. A few sighs of relief filled the air when the boy entered a helicopter. Reeve let out a sigh too. 

"Thank god he just sat down" Reeve muttered. He turned and walked away from the helipad. Phoenix dropped his back-pack on the ground and stoically sat down. 

"Back to the dead city" He murmured to himself. 


	5. Chapter 5

* * *

"I can understand why you guys never came back..." Aeris trailed off. She held the Princess Guard in her left hand; standing like a shepard looking over her sheep. Tifa walked up behind her and looked from the small cliff towards Midgar. 

"Yeah...Meteor wrecked it up pretty badly. You kept the whole planet from ending up like this" Tifa patted her shoulder. Aeris' face began to glow; the words lighting her heart up with good intentions. 

"Oh hush. Stop it; you make it sound like I was the only person to help the cause. Still, why were they even checking around Midgar?" Aeris and Tifa both glanced to their left when they heard the footsteps approaching. Cloud strolled up the cliff-side with a casual ease. 

"They wanna scout the area. Make sure its safe. I have no idea why they would even care" Cloud crossed his arms and looked out at the city. Tifa rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. 

"I think they're looking for more than that. Shinra had so much money, so much technology...hell, so many weapons laying around. There are a lot of reasons to look in the city" Tifa commented as she tapped her left foot a few times. 

"And monsters. Monsters still there" Aeris added. 

"I was just there. Sure there is some stuff here and there. But really, nothing worth looking for" Cloud pointed out. Tifa stopped her foot from tapping and gave him a knowing look. 

"Forgot about that; you going in there. Still, everyone who ever lived there probably wants to go back..." Tifa looked down at the ground as she jabbed her toe into the ground. Aeris took her right hand and put it on the Princess Guard while turning her head towards Tifa. 

"Tifa, we all lost something there. It's not easy for me to be going back..." Aeris thought her words were just bouncing off Tifa; she stopped wasting her breathe. 

"We got to get a move on. The quicker we find that monster the faster we get home" Cloud turned away and walked off the small cliff. 

"Still gold with words of caring" Aeris spoke; it was intended for a thought. She threw her hands up over her mouth. And while Cloud had not heard, Tifa let out a laugh. 

"He's already been back here. Plus, he never really called Midgar his home like we did" Tifa added. Aeris let out a sigh and looked back at the city. 

"Plus, he's a guy" Aeris tilted her head and placed it against her staff. She felt a giggle eruption building in her. All it needed was a catalyst to set it off. And Tifa's own laughter set off hers. Soon both women stood at the top of the cliff; their laughter filling the air. Aeris used her staff to prop her up; she was still facing downwards giggling like a schoolgirl. Tifa lacked a prop; she fell to her knees laughing. 

"Those two sure laugh alot" Cloud mentioned to the yellow chocobo to his left. 

* * *

"Move-move" The leader of the Junon Scout Group screamed. The men rushed out of the two helicopters with guns raised. They quickly formed a perimeter around the helicopters. After a couple of seconds, the helicopters took off into the sky again. The men kept their perimeter until the copters were long gone; even their sounds a distant memory. 

"Alright men, drop arms" The leader commented. The other men all dropped their guns and faced him. 

"Listen up men. We need to set-up a base as well as scout out a mile radius area here. I want it done within two hours. Any questions?" One man, off to the far left rose his hand. 

"Yes soldier?" 

"Sir, when will the helicopters be bringing more personal?" 

"Junon will send more troops once we have a firm base set-up. I estimate in two days. Anything else?" A soldier closer to the leader rose his hand. 

"Yes soldier?" 

"Sir, where did that boy go to?" 

"Excuse me soldier?" 

"That boy...the kid with silver hair. Where'd he go too?" With that, all the soldiers began to look around. But Phoenix had vanished; he had left before any of them had a chance to wonder why he had come in the first place. 

* * *

"They troops landed in Midgar about an hour ago" 

"Very well" 

"We estimate it will take Project B-6363747 forty minutes to find them, given the helicopter noise" 

"Very well" 

"We believe they sent the young boy who stopped the assassination attempts on Reeve as well. Shall we continue with our attempts on his life?" 

"Are we still leaving a trail?" 

"Of course" 

"Then yes. He is a thorn in our side. Between his Shinra roots and his affiliation with the boy, I want him gone" 

"Yes sir. We believe Project B-6363747 killed the scouting group from Kalm" 

"That should keep Kalm out of our business" 

"Yes sir. Sources say a few people from Kalm may attempt a rescue mission. Even so, I doubt that" 

"Let them; Project B-6363747 needs more testing before I feel ready to approve more" 

"Yes sir. That all sir?" 

"For now Overton. For now" 

* * *

"I remember when I left here. I was so excited. I had never been outside Midgar...not that I remembered. I never thought the city would be destroyed. Then again, I suppose it had to happen" Aeris stood in front of the broken fence around the city. She held the Princess Guard in her left hand; she kept tapping the bottom of it off the ground. 

"I remember that day too. I felt so confused. I had just lost the bar...Jessie and Wedge and Biggs. Regardless, that's in the past. Gotta move forward" Tifa crossed her arms and held her head down. Aeris reached over and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. Having secured the chocobo's to a poll, Cloud came strolling over. Unlike the other two, he walked with a spring in his step. 

"Alright. Be careful girls. This place isn't safe" With that, he walked right past them into the city. He used way to much energy to jump over the fence; he had energy to burn. Aeris blinked while Tifa fumed; she felt like her body was filled with fire. 

"He's enjoying this" She muttered under her breathe. She watched him walking into the city; like a kid walking into a toy store. His grin was the type reserved for a newly-wed. 

"It is nice...in a strange way. You know, us going looking for trouble" Aeris commented. The look she received from Tifa made her heart stop a second; its harshness rivaled that of sandpaper. After watching her walk after him, Aeris gulped. 

"What I say?" With that, Aeris followed them both in. What remained of Midgar shocked her; she never thought it could look uglier than with board-ed buildings and foul language on overhangs. However, she yearned for a curse word on a billboard now that she saw what was left. Most buildings were now huge junkyards; broken glass and useless bricks laying in large groupings. A foul stench, one of death mixed in with sewage, filled the air. And while the smells and sights were horrible, the thing that gained Aeris' attention the most was the sound. There were none, except for a few steps of footsteps mixed in with garbage swaying in the wind. She felt forced to stop. 

"Its worse than I could ever imagine" Aeris felt her breath coming to her harder and harder. The Princess Guard looked like a weather vane in a tornado. 

"Hey Aeris, where...hey, what's wrong?" Cloud came jogging towards her. Her nose wiggled as she went past him; her focus on the former city around her. Cloud stared at no one while the girls walked around the outskirts of Section 5. "Guess I said something wrong" Cloud spoke to no one in particular as he turned back to the others and walked towards the girls. Tifa seemed to be in a fog; while at least Aeris was looking at the old city, she just strolled around like nothing was there. Aeris sat down on a broken cinder-block wall and looked over at her lost friend. She gripped her staff even harder; the blood rushing to her fingers. 

"It's overwhelming" Aeris remarked as her heart-beat slowed down. Cloud strolled over next to Aeris. His attention was on Tifa, who just seemed to be sleep-walking. After a couple moments of watching her zombie-like walk, he turned his attention to the one who sat down and became like a plant. Cloud crossed his arms and shrugged at the same time. 

"What's wrong with you two?" Cloud bluntly asked. Aeris tapped his leg with the staff and glanced at Tifa. 

"We had a home and life here. It was a crummy town and few people thought it was perfect. A lot of us never wanted to call it home. But it was our home. It's tough to see it like this now" Aeris tapped his leg once more. Cloud craned his neck and looked at Tifa too. She bent down and picked up a piece of metal sheeting with a large Shinra logo on it. Tifa held the it in her gloved hands; her brown eyes focused on the logo and nothing else. After a minute passed, a horrid howl came from Tifa's body. She held the piece of metal over her head as her body emitted the deep-rooted cry. 

"I hate Shrina! I hate it! I hate everything they did! They took my dad, they took my hometown, they took my life! I fucking hate them!" Tifa then began to bring the sheet metal down on the ground. Her body heaved it up and down; the metal began to bend more and more. Tifa began jumping as she brought the metal down, until finally the sheet cracked in half. The logo broke in half; the top piece bounced off the ground and fell into the scrap heap with the millions of others pieces of metal. Stopping when it broke, Tifa leaned over and pushed on the ground with the broken metal. After a moment, Tifa dropped the metal and just stood there. As she turned around, she saw that four eyes were locked onto her actions. 

"Haha...sorry" Despite it, Tifa gave them a half-smile; her uneasiness seemed to have been thrown away with the top piece of the metal sheet. Aeris tilted her head and leaned on her staff more. 

"No need to apologize; I think you did a wonderful job of making sure that metal plate wouldn't harm us anymore" Aeris smiled in her own way. Cloud shrugged and looked down at Aeris. 

"Well, we could trip and cut ourselves on that piece that got away" 

"Good point" 

"Stop it!" Tifa let out a quick laugh and threw her arms down at her sides. Aeris kept her smile on while Cloud shrugged once more. Tifa wish she had a camera; if she could capture a moment of the two of them it was right then. Aeris' warm smile and Cloud's casual shrug; the essence of both of them. And for a moment; the world seemed perfect. Then something in the distance shattered that perfection. 

"I hear gunfire" Cloud called out as he pulled Ultimate Weapon off his back and dropped into a defensive stance. Tifa instantly ran towards the eyes as her heard spun around. 

"They're distant, that's for sure" Tifa stood to Cloud's left and kept her eyes scanning. Aeris spun the Princess Guard around in her hands a few times before stopping. 

"No time like the present to get use to this again...so what are we waiting for?" Aeris questioned in a shaky tone. Her hands kept moving around on her staff; up and down with no pattern to their movement. 

"No time to waste. Let's move out!" Cloud let a grin grow on his face. And while they ran off to find the gun-fire, they left all their supplies at the edge of Midgar. 

* * *

"Damn Ray, I'd think we better get outta town!" Billy walked back and forth in front of the bar. Ray kept rubbing the bar glass with his rag; his hand swishing around inside it. 

"He'd have killed us if he wanted us dead by now Ray. Overton didn't seem to be the type to fool around. I'm assuming we still got another chance-" 

"Or they just didn't kill us yet! Let's fuck off now!" Billy slammed his right fist into the bar. Ray placed the beer mug onto the bar and just shook his head. 

"Is there a Mr. Joseph present?" The man in the uniform at the door asked. Billy spun around and grabbed the bar with both hands. When he saw the man in uniform, he jumped over the bar and ducked down. Ray just rolled his eyes and nodded. 

"That's me. Why, what to do you got?" Ray put his open palms on the bar and looked at this man; his uniform belonged to a messenger service and he looked no thicker than a railroad track. The man pulled an envelope out of his pocket and walked forward. 

"Telegram sir" The messenger stopped in front of the bar. He held the brown envelope out in his hand; his eyes not daring to look at the larger man. Ray snatched the envelope away and snarled. 

"I can tell that. Get outta here" Ray slapped the man's hand away and ripped open his telegram. Billy stood up and pounded a fist into the bar again. 

"Yeah, get the fuck out before we make you get out!" Billy screamed with glee. The messenger turned around and ran out of the bar in a flash. Billy laughed as he watched the messenger escape. "Fuck off!" 

"We got meet with him" Ray's voice was drained off all emotion; the paper dropped out of his hand and fluttered to the ground. 

* * *

"Are you sure this is where the gun fire came from?" Aeris jogged behind Cloud and Tifa. After four steps, she looked over her shoulder. Seeing nothing besides the same old destroyed buildings and debris, she turned her attention forward again. 

"Hope so. The guns stopped firing awhile ago. Maybe whatever it was, they killed it" Cloud kept shifting his eyes while he jogged forward. 

"Maybe it killed them..." Tifa's voice trailed off as her body came to a stop. Aeris almost ran into her friend; she had to put her left hand into Tifa's back to stop her. Tifa jolted from the impact of Aeris' hand and spun around to face her. "Don't do that...sorry Aeris" Aeris saw the look in Tifa's face and did not respond; she just nodded her head. Cloud turned around and walked to the two of them. Upon reaching her, he placed a hand on Tifa's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

"Come on Tifa. You're not afraid of this...you're not afraid of this stuff. I know you!" Cloud's hand squeezed her shoulder more. Tifa reached up with her left hand and placed it over his hand. 

"I just got a real bad feeling that we're heading into trouble. Like, something we never dealt with before..." Tifa looked back at Aeris; her hand still firmly holding Cloud's to her shoulder. "You have to feel something too...I mean, you're the one who gets these feelings. Something feels wrong" Tifa bite her lip and looked into Aeris' eyes. Cloud looked over as well; he opened his mouth and was going to speak until he saw the look on Aeris' face. His mouth shut instantly when he saw it. Aeris took a hard breathe. 

"Something is going on here. I don't like this...something bad is out there; something that can hurt the planet. The planet is afraid of what is going on here" Aeris felt a cold chill run down her spine. Above them, the sky rumbled and shook in a rage. Cloud gripped Tifa's shoulder even harder now. 

"Then I say we go find what's going on and end it. Then it can't hurt anyone else. We can handle this" Cloud's voice was filled with confidence; so much that some spilled over onto Aeris and Tifa. Aeris smirked and tapped her staff on the ground. Tifa's gloved hand squeezed Cloud's hand one last time before pushing it off. 

"You're right. Look, let's just face this and get home. Well, where home will be. We can handle it" Tifa felt a smirk grow on her face. Aeris' new smirk fell off her face suddenly. "What's wrong?" Tifa quickly asked her. 

"Just felt like someone was watching me. Maybe I'm just worked up. But you guys are right. Let's go deal with this" Aeris' smirk returned but held back somewhat. Cloud grinned and grabbed the Ultimate Weapon with both hands again. 

"Right, let's move out" With that, Cloud turned forward and began jogging again. Tifa took a deep breathe before following behind him; her feet smacking off the cement ground hard. Aeris glanced around one more time; the Princess Guard held tightly in her hands. After looking around and seeing nothing but broken buildings and pieces of the upper plate, she started following behind Tifa. And while Cloud had warned her, Aeris could not help the feeling of sorrow inside herself. They were running over an up-scaled part of town; even for the plate section of Midgar. Once-fancy hotels and theaters were now all part of the same ghost town. Aeris came to a stop when, ahead of her, she saw Cloud, Tifa, and a mountain range forged of buildings. 

"Dead end?" Aeris asked as she walked up towards her friends. She scanned over the mountain; it held a bank, an apartment building, and a theater. Above them, the sky was darkening over. Cloud just grinned and pointed towards the top of the building with the tip of his sword. 

"You both climbed trees when you were young" Cloud placed his sword on his back and moved towards the building and placed his hands against. After reaching around for a few second, he began to climb up the former bank building. 

"All our adventures seem to end up with us climbing something" Tifa casually mentioned as she began to follow Cloud up the building side. Aeris gulped down hard and untied a pink string she had around her waist. After a few quick knots, Aeris put her staff over her shoulder and tugged on the string holding it on. A tiny smile crossed her lips. 

"Yeah for me" With that, Aeris grabbed onto the building and began to slowly climb up the side. As soon as she reached the the mid-way point of her climb, she felt eyes on her again. Her hair flipped all around as her head spun, looking for those eyes. "I hate this...wait up guys" Ignoring that feeling the best she could, Aeris began her ascent up the mountain of corporations. After ten more minutes, Aeris pulled her body over the top and looked at her friends. "So what's the view like" 

"It's...creepy. Plain creepy" Tifa crossed her arms over her white shirt. Cloud kneeled down and looked below. 

"It's like a huge crater formed here..." Cloud noted. Aeris walked in between them and looked downwards. In a day full of surprises, this one ranked up with the rest of them. The area was one huge crater; all the buildings and debris seemed to be pushed outwards towards the mountain they now stood upon. The ground lacked most the broken glass and old road signs as the rest of the city. Few pieces of litter remained on the ground along with a few tiny buildings. It looked like a farm at winter town; a dead brown ground that would be ready to be planted in spring. 

"I think I can make out the other side...it's really far off" Tifa pointed straight ahead of herself. In the far distance, miles away, there seemed another edge of the crater. "This is so weird...hey...maybe this is where Meteor hit. Like, really hit" Tifa turned towards the others. Cloud leaned upwards and shrugged his shoulders. 

"That sounds about right. Let's find a pathway down and explore..." He trailed off as he walked to the edge of the mountain top and looked downwards. A few pieces of debris fell off the edge of the cliff and down into the crater below. 

* * *

"Got...got...got to kill..." A sole man reached for a semi-automatic rifle. Grabbing the ground, he inched his way closer to it. His bloody hand opened up and grabbed the handle of the gun. "Yes...yes..." He pulled it towards him with care. Then suddenly, a giant boot stomped down on his arm. "Noooooooo!" The man called out in horror; the boot went from his shoulder blade to his wrist, a span of more than any normal foot would take. "Nooo!" The man yanked on his arm with his other arm in a vain attempt to get free. Blood leaked out of his mouth as he forced his head to look up at whatever was on his arm. Before he could get a real good look, the beast reached down and grabbed him by the neck. With one quick yank, the man's arm was ripped off and left under the monster's boot. The man screamed in even more pain; his only arm left trying to push the monster away. In horror, he looked down at where his arm lay. He felt air-sick; he was at least two feet off the ground. When he looked back up, he screamed even louder. 

"You are not human! You're some freak!" The man puked up more blood which splattered on the monster's face. The monster did not react to the blood; he just held up his other arm. The soldier stared at this arm; while it lacked a hand, the rocket launcher on the end more than made up for that. Tears rolled down the soldier's face; his feet churned like butter. Each kick bounced off the monster; not a single ounce of pain seemed to be felt. 

"Boom!" And with that, the man never had to worry about crying again. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

* * *

"You hear that?" Tifa looked back at Cloud, who jumped off the wall and looked forward. He pulled his sword out quickly; he nearly cut some of his hair off. 

"That was a heavy weapon. A rocket launcher or the like" Cloud crouched down into his fighting stance. Aeris jumped awkwardly off the wall; she landed on her knees. With a groan she got to her feet and stumbled forward. 

"How did we hear that before?" Aeris pulled the staff off her back. Cloud tilted his head to hear her; Tifa tightened her gloves while she looked at her. "I mean, the gunfire. How did we hear it? This place is like one huge crater. Sound can't travel through walls" Cloud shrugged his shoulders; his attention going forward again. 

"It could act like a huge echo too. We can worry about that later. Let's mosey, big time" Cloud began jogging once more. Tifa rolled her eyes and slapped Aeris' shoulder. 

"Good point, but he's right. Besides, why would someone shoot a gun just to draw attention to this place" Tifa finished getting her gloves fixed and ran behind Cloud. Thunder crashed like a symbol in the sky. Aeris gripped her staff harder and began to jog behind both of them. "Oh god" Tifa stopped suddenly and looked off to the left. She changed her direction and ran over towards a small building that was left. 

"What is it?" Cloud stood still and watched Tifa running over. "What's going on now?" Cloud held the Ultimate Weapon in one hand and tapped it off the ground. Tifa stopped at the front of the building. 

"Oh god guys, this person is dead...I think it was a person. It may be people. Oh my god, guys!" Tifa stopped near the building then stepped back away from the building. At the bottom of the building was a mass of humanity. It could have been pieces of numerous humans or just one mangled up; an arm and a leg stuck out from the mass but the rest seemed to be one huge mass. The whole area was washed in blood; pieces of brain matter were scattered in the sea of red. Aeris stopped behind Tifa and covered her mouth with her left hand. She spun around and looked down at the ground; gags emitting from her mouth. Cloud strolled over but the calm-ness in his step was gone. 

"Shit. Shit. Alright, let's go! We gotta find whatever is doing this and kill it. Now" Cloud sprinted away towards the sound of the rocket launcher. Tifa balled her fists up. 

"Damn it, he's right" With that, she was sprinting behind him once more. Aeris looked at the mass of humanity sprayed across the wall. Gasping for a breathe, she put her hand over her heart and held her head downwards. With that taken care of, she went running after the others. Cloud came to a stop; in the distance stood what seemed to be a man in a long black trenchcoat with a rocket launcher in his hand. Cloud grinned and dropped his sword downwards in front of him. 

"Hey buddy! Hey, don't get alarmed" Cloud called out. The thunder shook the air above him; the clouds even shook from the force of it. What seemed to be a man turned around to face them. It's body was shaped like a human being: Two arms and two legs extended from the body. The resemblance to a man ended there. The body was huge; it carried at least 400 pounds and stood at least eight feet tall; the whole thing looked like a marble statue come to life. Cloud could now see the rocket launcher was not being carried but was actually at the end of the arm. The face appeared to have come from an abstract painting; it had more stitches than a needle-work project and seemed more stretched than bread dough. Cloud took a step backwards as Tifa and Aeris came up to his sides; their movement stopped at once. 

"Found our-" 

"Boom!" The word came out of the monster's mangled mouth like a death-call; the rocket came flying out of the launcher to achieve that death. Everyone jumped to the ground as the rocket whizzed by and flew into the crater wall in the distance. 

"What is that thing?" Aeris screamed as she got to her feet. Cloud got to one knee and saw a very unsetting site; the monster running right towards them; it's huge booted feet smashing into the pavement, cracking it more than once. Cloud jumped to his feet and ran forward at the monster. 

"Tifa, wait for an opening. Aeris, materia attack at first chance..." Cloud called out. As the monster neared, Cloud leapt into the air and held his sword up high. As he fell, so did the sword. The monster calmly held the rocket launcher up; the sword bounced off it without even denting it. As Cloud's feet hit the ground, the beast's huge hand smashed into his chest. Sword falling from his hand, Cloud bounced backwards off the ground. Tifa replaced Cloud in the monster's face; her fist flying at its face with great speed. With even greater speed the monster ducked down and grabbed Tifa around the waist. Tifa gasped for breathe as the monster grasped her tighter. She swung at the monster's face with her fists; two misses were followed by a direct right to the face. Tifa pulled her hand away and stared at it. 

"You're like a rock...ahh!" She screamed as the hand crushed her body even more. She felt it release when Cloud slammed his sword right into the monster's left side. And while the blade cut into the trenchcoat, the body of the monster was cut-free. Tifa fell to the ground and instantly lunged back up and punched the rock-like jaw of the monster. It stumbled backwards a step then slammed its rocket launcher into Cloud's left shoulder and kept going until Cloud hit into Tifa. Both tumbled backwards and fell onto the ground. 

"Fire 2!" Aeris called out as a bolt of materia-charged fire flung off her staff and hit the monster. It's growl caused her to take a step back, but she shook her head to regain her composure. After the fire died down, she could see that all she had down was burnt some of his jacket. The monster rushed forward at her; it's body hurtling like a boulder in a landslide. "Oh goodness..." She turned around and tried running away, but tripped after a step and meet the ground face-first. She pushed to her knees and spun her neck around. Seeing how close the monster was, Aeris spun her staff around and right into the monster's leg; the sudden-ness of it caused the monster to stumble forward. Aeris got to her feet and rammed the monster's knee with her whole body. Aeris stumbled back farther than the monster did. Aeris got to her feet and awaited another charge. 

"Oh no you don't!" The Ultimate Weapon slammed into the monster's back. Cloud pulled the sword back and blocked the rocket launcher that was aimed at his head. Tifa ran up beside them and jump-kicked the monster in the upper-chest. Once again, the monster stumbled backwards but refused to fall. 

"Lightning 2!" And the monster was hit with bolts of lightning flying off the Princess Guard in its back. The monster growled and turned towards her. "Come on big boy!" Aeris called out, wavering her left hand towards her. Cloud grinned and swung his sword at the monster's rocket launcher arm. The monster spun the other way; its huge palm smashed into Cloud's face as he swung. "How'd he know?" Aeris cried out. 

"No time to wonder" Tifa grabbed the huge hand and used it to leap into the air. The soles of her boots grazed the monster's face. "Oh sh-" The monster flung its arm down and let her go flying in the air. Her palms hit the ground and she pushed off to her feet in one graceful move. Without wasting a second, she burst back towards her enemy. To the monster's surprise, Tifa rolled forward onto the ground and sprung, feet-first, at the monster. Her feet hit its chest at the exact moment Cloud slammed his shoulder into the monster's back. The monster just stood still; it was like two flies landed on it. Tifa rolled away from it and got to her feet. "This is crazy! It's like attacking a moving statue!" With that, Cloud lunged into the air and slammed his sword into the monster's left side. The monster tried to regain its balance but Tifa ran up and kicked the same spot that Cloud had hit. The monster once again stumbled a few steps. 

"It won't fall...!" Cloud tried hard to keep the sword steady in his hands. Soon the girls were standing beside him; all their eyes glued on the monster. The monster roared loudly; its arms flung down to its sides. 

"We got to find a weakness. It has to have one. Right?" Aeris took a step behind Cloud. The skies above them clouded over; darkness now covered the area as the sun was blocked out. Tifa cracked her right knuckles in her hand. 

"Yeah, it has to...we better attack before it fires another rocket" Tifa crouched down into her fighting stance. Cloud ran forward; the sword over his head. "He never likes to plan!" Tifa screamed as she raced behind him. The monster held its rocket launcher up and growled. Cloud sprinted forward and slammed his sword into the launcher; the rocket flew out at that moment and harmlessly flew the other way. Cloud spun around and jumped in the air; his sword aimed right at the monster's neck. Instead of hitting the neck; he hit the monster's arm. Cloud planted his feet and drove the sword into the monster's arm even harder. The rocket launcher came swinging towards his body; but Tifa jumped into the blow; her arms raised up to block it. "Umph!" Came out of her mouth as she fell backwards onto the ground from the force of the attack. 

"Tifa! Damnit; Aeris, hit it-" Cloud was interrupted when the monster moved its arm upwards; Cloud fell forward into a huge jumping knee from the monster. Cloud dropped his sword and groaned; that groan ended when the open palm slammed into his face and knocked him to the ground. 

"Ice 2" Aeris screamed from the distance. The streams of ice hit the monster, who momentarily was frozen. "Yes! Found a-" The monster broke the ice off and glared at her. "Oh no!" Aeris took a step backwards as the monster roared and rushed towards her. She gulped and held her staff up with as much bravery as fear. "Come on...!" Aeris reared back and swung the staff at the beast. The monster did not slow down; it grabbed Aeris and kept running. Aeris tried yanking her arms free but in vain. "Let me go-!" Aeris cried out. 

"Aeris!" Cloud got to his feet and went running towards them. Tifa shook the cob-webs out of her head and ran behind Cloud. The beast roared and threw Aeris towards the ground; her petite body bounced off the ground and rolled into the cliff side. The monster turned and calmly held its rocket launcher towards Cloud. 

"Boom!" And then the rocket came flying towards him. Cloud and Tifa both stopped and stared; their bodies frozen in fear. Then, a silver light filled the darkness and the rocket exploded in front of them. Tifa grabbed Cloud and jumped to the ground as the explosion wave rushed over them. The monster looked upwards at the cliff above Aeris; she looked at the explosion and then upwards as well. Her green eyes went wide as she saw a human missile jumping off the mid-way point of the cliff. 

"Phoenix!" Aeris called out. The teenager flipped his body over and rammed into the monster back-first. Finally, the monster's back hit the ground as Phoenix landed on top of it. He quickly rolled backwards and stood in front of Aeris. "Phoenix...how'd you get here?" 

"I'm here with a search party from Junon. Well, I was..." Phoenix's staff appeared in his hand as he hunched down into his fight stance. "That thing is like cement" Aeris ran up beside him and nodded. 

"Yeah, we've found that out...in fact, I think you hurt..." As she began to finish her sentence, the monster roared and got to its feet with ease. It then reared its head back and roared again. "I guess not" Aeris looked down on the ground; her staff was laying beside where the monster stood. Then, it rushed forward again. Phoenix reached over and pushed Aeris to the side. 

"Move" Phoenix ran forwards towards the monster. As he neared it, he used his staff as a pole vault; he lunged over top of the monster. As he flew over top of the beast, he put his left hand down and fired a silver blast right into the back of its head. The monster staggered forward; Phoenix landed and instantly turned around. His staff disappeared as his wrists went twisting all around. Finally, he formed a diamond shape with his fingers. "Burning Attack!" The ball of energy flung off his hands and slammed into the beast; hurtling it back into the cliff wall. 

"Keep firing. You're hurting it!" Aeris pulled her staff of the ground and rounded up behind Phoenix. "Fire 2" Aeris spun her staff around and sent a wave of fire onto it; the beast roared even louder. Phoenix held up both his hands. 

"Get ready to run..." With that, balls of silver energy flung off his hands and at the monster. But instead of hitting the monster, they slammed right into it the man-made cliffs behind it. The blasts began to shake the cliffs. Phoenix bent down a bit as the blasts come off his hands faster. 

"What? You're missing...wait..." Aeris smirked when it dawned on her. "Collapse the cliff onto him. Avalanche it on him. Ironic" Aeris took a step back and watched. The blasts dented into the cliff and began to shake the wall. The whole cliff caved in at once; the pieces of building began to cover the monster like snow covering a tree stump. Phoenix stopped blasting when the beast disappeared; the cliff now a sloppy hill of cement and broken glass. 

"Well, isn't this a coincidence?" Tifa took her steps with ease. She stood right beside Aeris and stared at the landslide that covered up their enemy. "You know, we could of handled it" Tifa glared over at Phoenix; his mis-matched eyes were still locked onto the avalanche he created. 

"I'm not certain. I'm assuming that is the monster that killed all the people who came here" Phoenix kept his eyes forward. Aeris tilted her head towards him and blinked. 

"How'd you know about the lost group from Kalm?" Aeris tapped his leg with her staff and grinned at him. Phoenix finally turned his head towards them. 

"Kalm? No, I'm talking about the search party I came with from Junon" Phoenix mentioned as he crossed his arms. Cloud walked up beside Phoenix and gave the new hillside a look. 

"Well, look who showed up; must of missed us" Cloud grinned and smacked Phoenix's shoulder. Aeris' eyes went wide when she saw Phoenix smirk and rub his shoulder. 

"Well, the thought had crossed my mind...I came here to see if I could find information about myself. Reeve had numerous files, but there is still a lot of information lacking about me" Phoenix faced the hill once again; his arms locked and crossed over his body. 

"So you took my advice, then? Good...now what was this about a party from Junon?" Cloud questioned. 

"Yeah, so Kalm isn't the only city sending people here?" Tifa tapped her foot a few times. 

"I assume not. I only came for the ride; I do not even recall talking to any of the men in the group. I assume their purpose was to scout out a location to set up a base" Phoenix explained. Aeris looked over at Tifa then gave Cloud a quick glance. 

"You guys ok? Feel alright? That thing threw you two around more than me" Aeris asked with a touch of concern. Cloud let out a laugh. 

"I'll be fine; just need some rest. Tifa, you gonna be good?" Cloud turned his attention towards her; she muttered something under her breathe and rubbed her arm. "Can you repeat that? I didn't hear you?" Cloud asked again. 

"I'll be ok...so you gonna leave now Phoenix?" Tifa spat out; her brown eyes wanting to look at anything but him. But that is where they were stuck; dead on him. Aeris grabbed at his right arm and looked up. 

"Oh, come on, stick around! I've been dying to talk to you!" Aeris pleaded. Tifa bite her lip and turned away from him now. 

"I bet he got stuff to deal with..." Tifa huffed out. 

"I suppose I can spend some time with you; dark is coming and I think it would be safe to wait until morning to search" Phoenix answered. Aeris rested her staff against her body and clapped happily. Cloud let out yet another laugh and looked at the hillside. 

"Well, since it looks like a storm is coming anyways, let's go...shit..." Cloud looked down at the ground. "We left all the gear back at the entrance of the city" Cloud kicked a rock away. 

"Scout team brought plenty of supplies. I bet some survived the attacks...in any case, I believe it would be wise if we left this area" Phoenix noted. Everyone nodded agreement and turned away from the hillside. A few moments later, when they were out of range, the hillside began to shift ever-so-slightly. 

* * *

"This is the place..." Ray walked inside the boarded-up building. There were no lights on; the only light that entered the building snuck through the cracks of the boards. The old floorboards moaned as Ray and Billy walked across them. In the darkness, both could make out a figure standing there. "Overton...that you?" Ray called out. 

"You two are bumbling fools. Reeve is still alive" The voice came through the darkness like a knife. 

"Well, hell, he had that kid!" Billy spurted out. Overton stepped forward; his expense loafers gliding across the floorboards. 

"Put him on a leash Raymond. The kid is gone. He went to Midgar. Hopefully, he will not return. Even if he does, it will not be for a few days. So my advice to you two is to kill Reeve before the next town meeting. Which is in a week. So again; my advice is to kill him soon. Or else-" 

"Hold on a second! Or else what? If you got people who are gonna kill us, why not kill Reeve yourself!" Billy screamed as he stepped forward towards Overton. 

"Shut the fuck up Billy!" Ray screamed and grabbed Billy's right shoulder; Billy shrugged him off and stomped his foot."Keep your mouth shut-" 

"Oh fuck him Ray! He just wants someone to blame when we kill Reeve! If he had his people do it-" 

"They would know it came from me. As opposed to hiring you two out and having you do it. You both want out of Junon. I am offering the means to that. And in return, you will do something I want done. If you'd like to be buried in here however..." Overton snapped his fingers. From the darkness came four men; armed with assault rifles. Two guns were aimed at each of them. Ray walked in front of Billy and pushed him back with one hand. 

"Alright...listen Overton, we're gonna take care of this. I promise; I assure you!" Ray pleaded. Billy gulped and balled his fists up. 

"I hope you do boys. This is the last time we will be speaking. If you succeed, you will receive payment. If you fail...punishment will be served" With that, Overton and his guards went back into the darkness. Billy went forward and put his arm in the air. 

"Yeah, well-" 

"Shut up!" Billy grabbed him and covered his mouth. "Listen to me. Keep your mouth shut. And let's go! We got to do this so we can get the hell out of here!" 

* * *

"Hey, you can go to sleep now" Cloud yawned as he walked out of the tent. He walked over to where a old house had been; now it was a pile of rubble. Phoenix stood in a crouch position on top of the pile; he looked like a giant frog with a silver head. 

"Very well" Phoenix jumped off the pile with grace and landed next to Cloud in a crotch position. He stood up in one easy manner. "I have a hunch that monster is not left over from the old experiments" 

"Well, I'd thought about it myself. Pretty odd that we found one super-monster out here. One that seems to be designed to stop people like us from looking around" 

"Especially in a confined area. It is also the only monster I've seen since I've been back here. And I do not recall any the last time I was here. Anything else odd about it?" Phoenix crossed his arms and looked around the area. 

"Well, he had a rocket launcher for one. I'm not sure how much of the fight you saw, but he seemed to learn our tactics as we fought. A couple times, he blocked an attack that he had no right to. But Boomer did-" 

"Boomer?" 

"Well, I'm sick of calling him monster. So he's Boomer" 

"Very well. So he was adjusting to you as you fought him. I saw very little of the fight; I did hear the missile fire. When I returned, I saw you battling it. I attacked when I could do the most damage" Phoenix stopped his neck; his gaze was set forward into the darkness. 

"Jumping at him may not have been smart; he was built like a truck" Cloud chuckled. Phoenix looked over at him; his eyes and lips were set in stone; a soft stone but stone none-the-less. 

"I was unaware of that. I felt like I rammed into a tree" Phoenix let out a nervous chuckle; the type of nervousness exhibited when a boy asks a girl out for the first time. Cloud grinned and smacked his shoulder. 

"Glad you showed up though. We were having a hard time with Boomer...you know, your sister really wants to talk to you" Cloud switched gears; he knew Aeris wanted nothing more than to talk to her brother. And while they had spoken a few times while they set up the camp, they did not share a nice conversation. The wind gently pushed the dark clouds through the night sky; no stars were out dancing tonight. 

"I wish to speak to her. I'm just not sure of what to say...I lack in these situations" The teen confessed. He crossed his hands and held his jacket to his body. His head went from looking forward to looking down. 

"Look Phoenix, sometimes it's hard to talk to someone. Aeris has never had the chance to talk to another Cetra. Plus, you're her brother...her dad was killed when she was weeks old. And I know her mom didn't raise her. So she never had any blood relatives around. So this is new to her too" Cloud explained. He held his tongue and watched the boy; he knew it was a good deal of information to absorb at once. Phoenix looked up; the emotionless son of Sephiroth had vanished. And Cloud could see why Aeris wanted to know her brother; his eyes glazed over and his lip trembling from nerves. 

"Perhaps she will not want a brother after she talks with me-" 

"Nonsense! You know how much she talks about you? Trust me here; you cannot disappoint her!" Cloud chimed confidently. Phoenix's nerves were gone; that glazed look a thing of the past. 

"Very well, I'll take your word on it. I need to rest now" Phoenix turned away from Cloud and walked towards the tent. 

"Hey, thanks kid...we'd never been able to beat Boomer without you back there" Cloud called out. Phoenix stopped at the entrance to the tent and turned around. Cloud leaned against the rubble pile and looked out at the dead streets of Midgar. 

"Thank you" By the time Cloud turned back to see Phoenix, he was in the tent. Cloud grinned and looked back out at the dead city. 

"Welcome" He muttered under his breath and watched the nothingness that occurred. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey sleepy-head, get up" Phoenix opened his mismatching eyes and looked upwards. His smiling sister stood above him; a giant metal plate in her hands. "Come on, we already ate breakfast. I managed to save you some..." Aeris kneeled down and put the plate on the ground. Phoenix leaned up and looked at the big metal plate. 

"What is it? I'm not very familiar with food..." Phoenix trailed off while he leaned towards his food. Aeris giggled and titled her head. 

"Well, the long brown strips are bacon. The big white circles with little yellow circles are eggs. The brown square things are toast. It's not the most elegant breakfast ever" Aeris grinned and turned her body around to a degree and grabbed a big glass or orange juice. "And this orange juice is...orange juice" She shook the glass in her hand for a moment then put it down. Phoenix reached over and grabbed an egg with his hand; the gooey mix of yellow and white dripped threw her fingers. Aeris blinked and shook her head. "Oh yeah, you need a fork...here" Aeris bent around and handed him a napkin with a fork in it. 

"That would make sense" Phoenix let the rest egg drip through his fingers. He took the napkin and whipped his hand on it. With clean hands again, he used the fork to shovel eggs into his mouth. Soon, the eggs were all gone from the plate. Phoenix then jammed the fork into the bacon and lifted it upwards. 

"Oh, you can use your hands with bacon. It's kinda greasy though, so it's ok to use the fork too" Aeris explained. Phoenix quickly consumed the bacon and then looked at the toast. He poked it with the fork, but noticed at once that the bread would slide off. "Yeah, for toast, it's better to use your hands" Aeris added. Phoenix quickly picked the toast up and munched it down. After a few moments the toast was no more. She handed him the orange juice. "And now wash it all down. Orange juice has an odd taste at first" Phoenix swirled the glass then threw the drink down his throat. She giggled when she watched his face turn bitter; his lips pulled inward for a few seconds. 

"That was not what I expected" Phoenix blurted out; Aeris giggles exploded from her body. Phoenix narrowed his eyes at her; she slowed her giggles down and covered her mouth with her left hand. 

"I'm sorry; I was only teasing!" Aeris smiled. And her smile grew even brighter when she saw her brother smiling as well. 

"It's alright. Thank you for bringing me breakfast. I have never had such a nice meal" Phoenix confessed to her. Aeris flicks some strands of hair out of her face; the smile burning brightly on her face still. 

"You're just saying that!" 

"No, I'm very serious. It is the first meal that anyone has ever made for me that I remember. It was much better than the health bars I was living on" Phoenix explained. Aeris sat back onto her butt and pulled her knees close to her body. 

"Thank you Phoenix. Would you mind if I asked you a question?" Aeris let the words roll out of her mouth. Phoenix stretched his arms upwards and nodded his head. "You know...those blasts you do. How do you do that? I mean, I know Cloud and Tifa do things sometimes where energy seems to come from no where. Your ability seems to be very...controlled" Aeris explained to him. Phoenix nodded his head and held out his hand. Aeris leaned forward when she saw a little ball of silver growing in his hand. 

"I'm not sure if I can explain this properly, but I'll try. When I power up a blast, I need to concentrate all my energy on one area. As I do that, more and more of my energy goes to that area. It starts to form into a silver light, which you see in my hand. The more powerful the blast, the longer I need to concentrate. In battle, I can throw small ones very quickly. They do little real damage. In fact, more damage is caused by the force of the blow then the actual energy" Phoenix held his hand closer to Aeris; her face held a certain degree of worry. "It cannot harm you. It's just energy" Aeris reached her hand out over the ball and jerked it away quickly. "It will not harm you" Phoenix repeated. Aeris put her hand over again and held it there; the energy gave her hand a warm feeling. 

"That is a nice ability...you have fantastic control over it" Aeris pulled her hand back. Phoenix grinned and let the ball grow larger. When it reached the size of his head, Phoenix shrank it down to the size of a cup saucer. 

"It's very useful to be sure...you can heal, can you not?" Aeris grinned and held her hand again. She smiled as a soft green glow came from her hand. She kneeled down and leaned forward; the glow lighting up the tent area. Both of their faces were locked onto the light show coming between their hands. 

"Yeah...it's very similar to yours. You know, the actual energy..." The tent area was filled with a clashing mix of green and silver. "Do you think your Jenova half is what allows you to gather energy like this...?" Aeris looked up from their hands at his head. When he looked up, she got a good look at those mis-matched eyes: The green Cetra eye and the blue Jenova eye. Both eyes closed and held tight for a second. 

"I believe my Cetra half allows me such control over my energy. I believe the Jenova half allows me to use it as a weapon...I cannot heal like you can. I can heal myself; but I do not believe I can heal others..." Phoenix trailed off and looked back down at the green and silver light show going on. A sad little frown covered Aeris' face; the first time a frown had entered onto her face since the conversation had begun. 

"It is entirely possible the Cetra had fighting genes at some point. Don't blame the Jenova just yet. Besides, I think that's wonderful you can do those attacks! It gives you a huge edge in a fight. Not that I think you should be looking for fights, but you know you can defend yourself" Aeris forced herself to smile. And she stopped forcing her smile when her brother looked up with a fresh new smile on his face. 

"I suppose you're correct. It gives me a unique advantage in a fight" Phoenix finally let his energy die out; all the green light remained in the room. Then the green light from Aeris died down as she stood up. 

"On that note, I think its time we get going. Not much else we can do here" Aeris explained. She walked towards the end of the tent and looked back at her brother. "It was really nice talking to you Phoenix...nice to have a brother" With a red tint covering her face, she exited the tent. Phoenix titled his head and smiled brightly. 

* * *

"We don't need much more than water, do we?" Tifa picked up a few canteens of water and slung them over her shoulder. The dark storm clouds that polluted the skies the day before were almost all gone; they had held in their storms and moved on peacefully. Cloud threw some left-over orange juice on the fire they had used to cook breakfast. 

"Yeah, I don't see us being here still at dark. Maybe we should take some food...I mean, we left our supplies back by the gates of the town. We may need to stop for dinner" Cloud added. Tifa frowned and looked down at the cooler of food they had found; it was left by the dead soldiers from Junon. They had cleaned off most of the blood it was painted in. Most. 

"We got a dozen eggs left, half a loaf of bread, a package of cheese...and what appears to be ham. But I'm not sure. I don't want to open the package and spoil it" Tifa leaned down to get a closer look at the contents of the cooler. "It's not the biggest cooler in the planet. But it's going to be a pain to carry with us" Tifa pointed out. Aeris strolled over behind her and looked down into the cooler. 

"Well, we can take turns. That way it won't be so bad" Aeris cheerfully added. Tifa grinned and looked over her mass of brown hair and her shoulder at her. "What I do wrong?" Even then, the cheerfulness had not left her voice. 

"You had a talk with him, didn't you?" Tifa looked into her friend's eyes; they were the brightest green she had ever seen them. Aeris blushed and pushed her hair off her neck. 

"Yeah...it's nice. You know, knowing someone else is out there like me. That I'm not the last Cetra" Aeris explained to her. Tifa looked forward and closed the cooler. Leaning up, her brown hair fell down onto her back. 

"You just like having a brother" Tifa let out a small laugh and faced her. Aeris sheepishly grinned and shook her head around. "It's like you talked to a rock star or something!" And both girls giggled softly.Cloud rolled his eyes until he heard Phoenix emerging from the tent; he was pulling his black and white back-pack onto his shoulders. 

"You know, I forgot you were a teenager until you slept in" Cloud pointed out. "The back-pack helps add to the image too" Phoenix yawned; his arms outstretched high over his head. When he put them down, he looked at Cloud. 

"You're not the first to say that to me. However, I believe I needed the extra rest" Phoenix looked over at the girls. "And some food" When he said that, Aeris smile grew even more, if it was possible. Tifa looked away from him and at Cloud as a few storm clouds came back to the sky above them. 

"So are we just heading back to the chocobos and riding home? I mean, we know what happened to the others" Tifa pointed out. Cloud put his hand up to his face and rubbed his chin. 

"I see no point in staying here-" 

"Can I ask a favor?" Aeris jumped into the conversation quickly. Tifa and Cloud both turned their attention to her. When she saw she had their attention, she went forward with her question. "Do you think it would be a huge problem if I went to see if my old church survived? I mean, I know it didn't...I'd just like to see it one more time" Aeris explained. Tifa nodded sympathetically and patted her back. 

"Its probably on the way. We could stop by...see if its still around" Tifa told her. Aeris nodded her thanks to Tifa then turned towards Cloud. 

"Not a problem Aeris. Like Tifa mentioned, we can stop by on our way back...hey Phoenix, you gonna join us?" Suddenly everyone's attention to the young teen. Phoenix took a step back and looked at all of them at once. 

"Well, I need to go look at my original lab. I think there were some files there I could use" Phoenix explained. A few more dark storm clouds came over the horizon and a clap of thunder could be heard in the distance. "I'd like to...you know, figure it all out" Phoenix finished it all. Aeris frowned sadly; her hair losing its luster and her eyes going from a gloss to a flat finish. 

"Oh...well, I understand. I was hoping you'd come back to Kalm with us...we could use the help..." Aeris muttered; the words fell off her tongue like lead. Her hands tightened around the Princess Guard. 

"We need to re-build the town-" Cloud started. 

"The one you burnt down" Tifa spat out from no where. Phoenix's eyebrows narrowed at once. 

"That was not exactly my doing-" 

"Oh shut up! You burnt the town down! Just like your father! And you tried to kill my friends just like him!" Tifa roared; her anger could almost be seen coming out of her mouth. Aeris took a step back; her eyes wide in fear. Cloud took a deep breathe and looked at Phoenix; he wanted to see the boy's reaction. 

"It was an accident. That was not my intent. I made a mistake. I did not start that fire but I could have contained it. I regret that" Phoenix explained calmly. Tifa slammed the lid on the cooler and marched over him. Stopping a mere inch from him, Tifa stared him dead in the eyes. 

"You killed thirty-two people! Thirty-two people lost there life so you could be like your father. You got a good answer to that one?" Tifa's spit was hitting his face. 

"Two hundred and forty-eight" Phoenix coldly replied. Aeris dropped her staff and came running over; her tiny body somehow wedged in between them. She pushed outward with her hands on their bellies, but both of them refused to budge. 

"Stop-it-stop-it!" Aeris cried out. Cloud dropped his sword and sprinted over. Unlike Aeris, he did manage to get some separation between the two of them. 

"Don't start you two" 

"What's two hundred-forty eight?" 

"Stop-it, stop-it!" 

"Don't start-" 

"That's how many people died when AVALANCHE blew up the reactor in Midgar. A deliberate attack that killed two hundred and forty eight people" Phoenix turned away from them and began to walk. Cloud grabbed Aeris and kept her from falling over when he walked off. The anger in Tifa's face washed out all at once; a sickly white pale look filled in where the anger was. Within a few seconds, Phoenix was gone. Aeris turned towards Tifa; she seemed to have captured Tifa's anger. 

"Why did you say that? Why would you do that? He made a mistake!" Aeris lunged towards Tifa but Cloud held her tightly. Tifa stared blankly as Aeris clawed at her. "He was coming out of his shell! He was starting to become human! And you did that to him!" Aeris suddenly stopped fighting and collapsed to the ground. Cloud put his hands on Aeris' shoulder and gently rubbed them. While his hands were on her shoulders, his blue eyes were dead-locked on Tifa. 

"Tifa...yeah, he was wrong to do that. I'm sure he regrets it...and you even had a point to bring it up to him. Especially if it made you uncomfortable. But you really went about it the wrong way" When he finished what he was saying he looked down at Aeris and began to massage her shoulders. The thunder cracked in the background again; the rain clouds were forming a union over the sky above them. Tifa looked like a sick ghost; her face was pale and frozen in disgrace. 

"Right...you're all right. Even him..." Tifa looked down at Aeris and froze. She looked past her towards where Phoenix had walked to. In the distance, she saw him climbing over a pile of fencing and a former train station. "You guys...I'll meet you guys at the the front of Midgar" Tifa tossed two canteens on the ground in front of Aeris. "I'm gonna take the food; I noticed he had a back-pack on. We can put the cooler in there" Aeris, still shaking from her burst of unusual anger, looked up at Tifa with glazed eyes. 

"You're gonna go get him?" Aeris choked out. Tifa nodded and walked past them; cooler in her hands. 

"I'm gonna try Aeris..."With that, Tifa was gone; her footsteps growing more distant by the second. Now strikes of lightning appeared in the sky above them. Aeris, with a hand from Cloud, got to her feet and cleaned her eyes out. 

"She's not going for him, is she?" Aeris asked; she really did not require an answer. 

"She's going to make us feel better" Cloud answered; both of them knew it before Aeris had answered the question. "I have to admit, though, I'm shocked she's going...he made his point though...I wish he hadn't..." Cloud turned away and walked over to his sword. Aeris just sighed and let her head hang. 

"It was such a beautiful morning" The sky filled with thunder now; thunder so loud it could wake the dead. Especially the recently deceased. 

* * *

"News, I presume" Reeve looked up from his folder. Rude jerked his neck slightly upwards; a loud crack filled the sun-filled room. The storm clouds of the past few days had moved out to the sea; the sky was clear and bright. Only a few clouds dared the sky. 

"We have our suspects down to three groups of men. And we're almost certain Dallin Overton. We overheard him saying how much he hates you and how much he'd like to get rid of you" Rude responded. Reeve put the folder down and leaned forward. 

"Did he say these things in public-" 

"No. To an aid in an elevator we had mic-ed. Once we find out who is actually making attempts on your life, we'll be able to forge a plan" Rude finished. Reeve nodded and picked up his folder. 

"That's what I like to hear. I'm not real fond of being attacked by some random goons" Reeve pulled out a piece of paper from the file and placed it on the table. "Thanks thought Rude. I know the pay isn't what you should be making-" 

"Favors need re-paid. I'd like to think we owe you for the warning about Meteor. When this is over, we're even. Agreed" Rude stated it more as fact than question; Reeve knew this was his way though. 

"Of course Rude. I never considered that a favor though. But sure, we're even when this is all done" Reeve picked up his pen and signed his name to the document. "I'm shocked you haven't killed me for helping AVALANCHE" Reeve tossed out; the thought had been bothering him for a long time. 

"You saved the planet. And thus our lives. And Shinra is dead. So forget it Reeve; you have no fear of the Turks" With that, Rude turned around and walked towards the door. 

"Are you glad its gone Rude? Shinra...you glad it's gone?" Reeve looked up from his paperwork. A cloud passed over the sun outside; it blocked all the light from entering the room. Rude stopped at the doorway and put his hands on the doorway. 

"I do not miss the greed. I do not miss the killing for no reason. I do miss the structure; I miss Midgar. Shinra never killed as many people as Sephiroth did with that attack. So I suppose I do not miss it. But I wish it would have happened another way" Reeve stood up when Rude finished speaking and put his hands on the desk. 

"You never fought Shinra-" 

"I was content. As where you, remember? It's gone and we are not. That's all that matters now" And with that, the door was open and Rude was gone. Reeve flopped back down in his chair as the sun-light entered the room again. He sighed and went back to work. 

* * *

"Hey...hey...wait up!" Tifa jumped off the top of a fence and looked at Phoenix's back. "Just wait a minute!" She jogged; the cooler was not heavy but awkward. That awkwardness slowed her down quite a bit. 

"What do you have to say" Phoenix stopped walking but did not turn around; his back stayed to her face. Tifa stopped a few feet behind him. She placed the cooler down and crossed her arms. The new cold wind slammed into her body and tingled her skin. Tifa looked around at all the destroyed buildings before stopping her eyes on him. 

"Look...it bothers me. You know, the fact Kalm burned down. And since you had a hand in that....you bother me. You bother me" Tifa stated. She jammed her toe into the ground and looked down at the ground. "When I look at you, I see-" 

"Sephiroth. My father" Phoenix finished the sentence for her. The thunder roared in the sky; it lingered for a few seconds. Tifa looked up at him as the wind whipped into her. 

"Yeah...I know Aeris sees the Cetra in you. And Cloud...Cloud respects your ability. And I know you've guys have talked a few times. But I cannot look at you and not think of him. All he did to the planet. To my friends. To me" Tifa felt her body shaking; the cold air chilling her bones. Lighting filled the sky with a quick flash; when the light died down it seemed to be even darker than before. 

"I regret Kalm...it was one of those things I will never forget" Phoenix looked over his shoulder at her finally; his green eye catching her attention. "And I am not...happy that I remind you of him" Phoenix looked forward again. "I have files to get" His boots moved forward now; his back-pack swaying slightly on his back. 

"They really want you to come back to Kalm...look, at least go back and talk to them" Tifa looked up at him; the wind pulled the storm clouds closer over their heads. "I can go with you to get the files. Then we can go to see the others. You owe it to talk to them" Tifa uncoiled her arms and held them down at her sides."It would mean the world to her if you came back to talk to her" Tifa held her breathe and stared directly at his back. 

"If you insist" Phoenix kept walking down the dead street; the breeze playfully knocking his jacket around on his back. Tifa bent down, picked up the cooler, and walked after him. She jogged up next to him and looked over; the cooler hanging down in front of her. 

"Do you mind...if I put the cooler in your back-pack?" Phoenix looked over at her; his glare as hard as the cement underneath their feet. Tifa looked down at the cooler and sighed. "I'll take the back-pack and wear it. I'm just sick of carrying it" Phoenix shrugged his shoulders and snatched the back-pack as it came off his back. "Thanks-" 

"I do not have anything in there now except a folder. Make sure the folder does not get torn" Phoenix handed her the back-pack. Tifa unzipped the pack and slide the folder out. She put the cooler in then placed the folder on top. "I may need it back to place more files in" With that he began walk again down the street. Tifa sighed and zipped the bag up. Slinging it over her shoulders, she followed behind him again. 

"That's fine...how far is it?" Tifa strolled along the road as the clouds began to team up in the sky; the sun was becoming blocked off. 

"Not to far...one day perhaps..." Phoenix stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. The bright green of his eye stood out in contrast to the black of his tanktop and the silver in his hair. "One day, I will not be his son in your eyes" With that, he faced forward and began marching again. Tifa's eyes went wide; her lips pushed together tightly. She closed her brown eyes and nodded. 

"Perhaps...I hope" She muttered through clenched lips. She strolled down the street behind him. Above them, the skies were getting ready to unleash a storm on them. 


	8. Chapter 8

"I hate dis shit! Why did we agree to do this?" Billy paced around on the roof-top. Ray placed the rifle he was holding onto the brick ledge of the building and craned his neck around to look at his friend. 

"Because we need the money to get out of here. And we really need to get out of here...!" Ray leaned back down and snatched the rifle off the ledge. His beer belly rested against the ledge of the building as he looked down at the streams of people coming out of the municipal building in Junon. "I just want to shot him dead and move on!" Ray leaned up a bit and stared down at the crowds of people. 

"Yeah...just shot him so we can go and drink!" Billy stopped pacing and stood directly behind his friend. Ray's hands were shaking terribly; the novice gun-shooter in him was showing now. Ray leaned forward a bit more. 

"I got to wait for Reeve to come out idiot or I can't shoot him!" Ray screamed out. He let the gun go a second and stood up. He rubbed his hands on his pant legs; hoping to clean the sweat right off of them. 

"What did you say?" Came a voice. Ray leaned down and picked up the gun again. He kneeled down near the ledge and aimed downward at the crowd of people. 

"I need to wait for Reeve..." Ray stopped when he felt a gun barrel pressed against his skull. Sweat now poured out of his forehead at a record pace. 

"Now drop the rifle and I won't shot you in the back of the head" Rude calmly stated. Ray instantly dropped the gun and held his hands up over his head. "Now stand up and turn around slowly. Keep your hands in the air" Ray stood up on his shaking knees and turned around. Ray gulped down hard; Rude held the gun right to his forehead. Beyond the gun he saw Billy laying on the ground while Reno stood over him, twirling his nightstick in his hand. 

"So Overton didn't want to wait..." Ray trailed off. Rude titled his head; his sunglasses reflecting the bright sunlight off them. "So you're gonna kill us and be over with it?" Rude turned around and looked at Billy; laying on the ground and shaking in fear. 

"When did you plan to meet Overton again?" Rude demanded to know. Ray felt his stomach rumbling inside him. He kept his mouth closed and swallowed the horrible-tasting vomit. 

"When we finished the job...at my bar...!" 

"And you're bar is?" 

"It's Ray-Jay's Pub...it's down on the main drag...oh please don't kill us...! Tell Overton to give us another day!" Ray fell to his knees and held his hands up in a cup form. He liked like a beggar asking for another piece of day-old bread. 

"You are scum. I shall treat you like it" Rude took a few steps backwards and held the gun perfectly still; the aim on his left eye. Ray just closed his eyes. But the flap of skin over his eye could not stop the bullet from ripping through it. Ray's body slumped backwards against the stone ledge. The blood spilling from his head matched the red color of the bricks. Reno stepped away from Billy and laughed. 

"Goodbye bitch-face" Reno chuckled. Rude held the gun at Billy's head. But Billy jumped up and took a few running steps forward. Reno jabbed him with the nightstick, shocking Billy. Billy's hair went straight into the air and his arms went flying upwards. His body fell to the ground and shook like a leaf in a wind storm. Rude walked up and looked down at Billy's shaking body. "Fucker made me work" Reno chuckled as the gun-shot shook the air around them. 

* * *

"Are we close? You know, it's about to rain..." Tifa grabbed the straps of the back-pack and held them firmly. Phoenix stopped walking and glanced to the left. 

"This is it" With that he jumped over an old washing machine and walked up to the broken metal door of the building. "As they say, home-sweet-home" The metal door fell off the hinges when Phoenix pushed it open. The hallway was darker than a midnight sky. 

"I can barely see..." Tifa commented. Suddenly the hallway filled with a silver light. Phoenix held his hand up and turned around to face her. Tifa looked down and repressed a grin that threatened to sneak onto her face. "That does help..." 

"Very well" Phoenix moved forward down the silver-hazed hallway; stepping over rocks and other rubble. Tifa jumped over a big stack of rocks and looked backwards towards the door; it was just as dark outside as it was inside the hallway now. Phoenix pushed open another huge metal door and walked into a laboratory. "Here we are" The silver haze was gone; a few electric lights remained on in the room. 

"How did those lights stay on?" Tifa asked as she shrugged the back-pack off and placed it on the ground. When no answer came, she walked over to a desk and looked down it. "So what are you looking for? Anything I can help with?" She crossed her arms and glanced over at him; he blasted a lock off a filing cabinet then sat down on the ground and pulled the bottom cabinet shelf open. 

"I thought you were only coming to take me back to Cloud and Aeris" Phoenix pulled out a folder from the bottom rack and flipped it open. Tifa put her hands on her hips and jabbed her boot onto the cement. Looking back at her for a moment softened his face. "In the closet to the left there...I believe there are some more clothes for me. Check in there-" 

"Don't order me around" Tifa shot a glare at him. Phoenix's eyes went wide as he put the folder down. His eyes blinked a few times; he looked like a little kid who was confused by a homework assignment. "Look...ask me. You don't need to make it an order. Just ask" Tifa explained. Phoenix lips moved to the left of his face; he looked even more like a little kid. 

"Would you mind looking in there for clothes?" Phoenix responded. Tifa nodded and walked over to the closet. She turned the handle but the whole door fell off at once; she had to jump back to avoid getting hit by it. She kicked the door aside and looked in the closet. 

"Wow...two gray jackets. A boatload of choice there...wait, I see some plastic wrapped stuff...wow. Black pants and black tanktops. They sure left you a lot of choice...hey, another back-pack!" Tifa picked up the back-pack and tossed five shrink-wrapped clothing packages into it. "Do you want the jackets too?" 

"Yes. This is my last one. I lost the other ones" Phoenix tossed the folder to the side and pulled the next one out. Tifa nodded and looked back at them. She pulled one off the rack and jammed her left arm down the sleeve. Phoenix sneered and looked over at her. "Those are mine. You cannot...well, you should ask, correct?" Phoenix once again looked like a little kid. But now, he looked like an eager kid in school; waiting to learn. Tifa grinned and took the jacket it off. 

"That's right. Do you mind if I wear one? It's getting cold outside" Tifa asked with a gentle grin on her face. Phoenix nodded his head; only a faint trace of a smile crossing his face. A tiny roar of thunder reached into the office area; it must have been ten times louder outside the old laboratory. 

"By all means. Just place the other one in that new back-pack" Phoenix went back to looking at his folders. Tifa smirked and packed the jacket on top of the shrink-wrapped uniforms. "I will have more room to place files in now" 

"So what files are you looking for?" Tifa zipped the back-pack and carried it over to him. "Sure you don't want any help with them?" Phoenix looked up at her; his expression not angry but not confused either; just very serious. She put the back-pack down and unzipped it. "If its personal, I can just look at the names on the files and tell you. I won't invade your privacy" Phoenix took a breathe and nodded. 

"Anything that says Project Re-birth or Project Phoenix is what I am looking for" Tifa sat down next to the back-pack and pulled a folder out of the rack. "Thank you" Phoenix placed the folder had been looking at inside the back-pack and pulled out the next one. A few moments passed until Tifa put the folder into his back-pack and pulled out a new one. Another thunder clap entered the lab. 

"Project F.L.I.P..." Tifa muttered. She flipped open the folder and began to read the cover-letter. "Project F.L.I.P is a subset of the Re-Birth Project. Project F.L.I.P, or Fabricated Lifeform Interspecies Prototype is the creation...you want this one too?" Tifa closed the folder and looked over at him. Phoenix nodded; his head was still buried in his newest folder. Tifa slide it into the back-pack then rubbed her chin. "F.L.I.P...Flip. That's what I'm gonna call you" Tifa declared. Phoenix looked over at her again; he no longer seemed to care about the file. "Look, the name Phoenix seems...it reminds me of him to much. And face it, that don't sound like a teenager's name. Flip though...Flip is you, for sure. With all the back-flipping and stuff you do. From now on, you're Flip" Tifa smacked his shoulder and pulled out another file. Phoenix stared at her a moment before smirking and returning to his file. 

* * *

"I don't know why I let her go talk to him" The Ultimate Weapon clanged along the cement as Cloud marched down the road. "They're probably fighting. Or worse, screaming at each other. Man..." 

"I don't think they're yelling or fighting...I don't think" The Princess Guard bounced off the ground while Aeris walked down the road. "Tifa seemed to feel bad. And Phoenix won't start fighting with her if she don't start...I think" Aeris gulped and stopped walking. "Do you think they're fighting?" Cloud stopped a few steps ahead of her and laughed. 

"I think they argued a bit. But Tifa would have headed this way if they had fought. Phoenix is pretty set on getting his files. And we would have heard them fighting; look how well sound travels" Cloud pointed out. He looked forward and let out a deep breathe. "I probably shouldn't of said they were fighting" 

"No!" Aeris screamed then let out a tiny giggle. She walked forward and tapped the back of his leg with her staff. "You didn't need to make me worry more" Aeris walked ahead of him and looked all around the former city. Piles of garbage and broken pieces of buildings remained where people once gathered. They moved silently past all the debris and garbage until they reached the sector where her church had been. "Maybe this was a bad idea..." 

"Nonsense. I bet we find your church...did you...you plan on taking some stuff? As a memento?" Cloud kept looking around sharply; his eyes looking for any sign of it. Aeris stopped walking and stood still. The wind blew through her hair; her red jacket flapped around her chest. She gripped the staff tighter still and took a single step forward. 

"My church" Aeris dropped her staff and ran right into the old church. Cloud bent down and picked the staff up. He gripped it and looked at the church; it looked old but always had. The siding of the church was falling off in numerous places; it revealed the old brick walls of the church. The stained glass windows remained in together for the most part; a few had cracks crossing over them like spider-webs. Cloud spied upwards; the dark clouds were beginning to gather in force. He sighed then looked towards the roof. 

"That hole never did get fixed" Cloud smirked. Suddenly Aeris came sprinting out of the church; her boots smashing off the ground at a remarkable rate. "Hey, whats-" Aeris yanked his arm and pulled towards the church. Cloud stumbled; both his sword and her staff in his left hand. "Hey, what's the rush!?" 

"You got to see this! You will not believe it!" Aeris tugged him inside the church and right towards the flower bed in the church. Cloud stumbled along as they rushed back the decaying benches. When they reached the flower bed, Aeris let him go and pointed at it. "Look!" 

"How..." Cloud muttered softly. Aeris smiled and kneeled down onto the soft earth of the edge of the flower bed. It had not been cared for months. But still, a few tiny flowers were blooming at the edge of the flower bed. 

"Midgar was the center of the planet's energy. The Lifestream was so strong here...before Mako Reactors and human beings stole that energy. That's why Meteor destroyed Midgar...that's why it was allowed...this place has suffered to much" Aeris gently pushed some dirt closer to the little flowers and smiled. "This place belongs to the planet now" She stood up and knocked some dirt off her dress. 

"We came close to dying off...didn't we?" Cloud tapped his sword off his boot. He looked down when he felt a trace of her green eyes on him. Aeris turned back around and looked down at the blue flowers; a few rain drops hitting them. 

"Perhaps you...and us...deserved to die. The Cetra should not exist anymore" Aeris stated. Something hit Cloud; his eyes went pale and he felt sick in his stomach. Cloud walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. 

"I'm sorry...I...I'm sorry Aeris" Cloud squeezed her shoulder and closed his eyes. Aeris turned around and looked at him. She opened her mouth but shut it; she just took his hand in hers and closed her own eyes. "I will never forget that day. That moment. I...I wake up still and think of it. I let you down..." Aeris put her arms around him gently; her shoulder resting on his shoulder. 

"Don't..don't you dare worry about that. We both did what we had to do. We both saved the planet...just don't you dare do this to yourself over me" Her green eyes let a few tears flow onto his shoulder. And she felt a few drops on her back. And while it was raining, she knew it was not rain drops. 

"Hey...you're not the last one anymore. A positive" Cloud laughed; the type of laugh you use to hide tears. Aeris laughed herself as she pushed away from his shoulder; she did keep her hands on his shoulders though. 

"More than another Cetra. A brother...you just don't worry about that...it happened Cloud. You did your part and I did mine. So forget it...DUCK!" Aeris grabbed Cloud's shoulders and fell forward. 

"Boom!" The rocket went flying over top of them and slammed into the old piano that was at he back of the church. The old pipes fell forward; they fell a mere foot away from their heads. Cloud rolled off Aeris and pulled his sword out. 

"How? You're dead!" Cloud screamed. Aeris' eyes went wide as she scrambled to her feet. "Run Aeris! I'll take care of this!" Cloud took a step backwards. Boomer tore through the doorway; his shoulders and head knocked out extra room so he would fit through. He stalked towards them; his rocket launcher aimed directly at Cloud's head. 

"Barrier!" Aeris spun her staff around; Cloud could see the glass-like barrier go up in front of him. She took a few steps back and glanced to the left. Boomer held the rocket launcher up and hissed. 

"Boom!" Cloud stood his ground and watched the missile soar at him. He braced himself at the last minute; the rocket smashed into the barrier; the force of the rocket sent a blast of wind the other way. 

"The barrier is almost gone...!" Cloud took another step back; his eyes going wide. Aeris ran over to him and grabbed his arm. 

"Remember the last time we escaped from here?" With that she let go and went running into the back room. Cloud nodded and ran towards the right of the church. 

"I'll buy you time!" Cloud screamed. Aeris turned around and gave him a look, but went running into the back room anyways. "Hey, you big ugly..shit!" Boomer came rushing at Cloud; he tore right through the old benches like they made of cheese. Cloud jumped up onto a bench and leapt at the beast. The Ultimate Weapon came down at a 45 degree angle; the aim was the beast's neckline. But the rocket launcher intercepted the sword. Cloud landed on a bench and pressed downward. "Come on you-" His words were cut off when Boomer's massive hand wrapped around his neck and lifted him upward. He tried to chop at the hand but the rocket launcher kept blocking him. 

"Let him go!" Aeris pushed the barrel with all her might at the beast; it smashed into its knees and sent it stumbling backwards. In the process it let Cloud slip free. Aeris grabbed his arm and went rushing into the back room of the church. "Now will you come!" They both went rushing up the broken stairs as fast as they could. Boomer stalked forward; his massive arm knocking the benches out of the way. He stomped right on the flowers as he walked into the back room. 

"Now!" Cloud screamed as they both pushed a barrel off. Boomer looked up and got hit right in the head with one of them. Cloud grabbed Aeris' hand and went running towards the hole in the ceiling. "Let's go!" Aeris climbed out the side of the hole as Cloud looked down; the beast shook its massive body, leaned back, and let out a blood-curling roar. Cloud jumped through the hole and ran towards Aeris; she stood at the edge of the church; the pouring rain covering over her like a shower. 

"We gotta go find Tifa. And Phoenix! We can't stop this thing alone!" Aeris cried out. Cloud grabbed her arm and nodded. Behind them, a rocket went flying up through the open hole in the church. Cloud jumped towards the next building over; Aeris going along side him. They landed on it with a thump and rolled down the slanted roof. As they fell off the roof and towards the ground, Cloud wrapped his arms around her and let his back brace their fall into the ground. "Cloud! Why would you...!" She jumped off him and kneeled down. "Cure..." She muttered as the soft green glow went from her staff onto his body. Cloud shook his head; the rain drops flying off of his strands of hair. 

"Let's go!" Cloud scrambled to his feet and went running past the church; Aeris in tow right behind him. Aeris looked over her shoulder at her beloved church. The huge stain glass window on the side seemed dark, even in the darkness the storm had created. Then it cracked; the crack started at the center and spider-webbed outwards in second. For a second was all the time it was in existence; the glass erupted outwards as the huge mass of monster burst through it. The pieces of colored glass rainbowed to the ground; they fell just like raindrops would. Boomer leaned back and flung his arms to the side; his roar shattered the next window down. Aeris looked forward and pushed her body even harder; the rain drops covering her body. But they were not the reason she was shaking. 

* * *

"I wish the rain had waited!" Tifa held an empty folder over her head in an attempt to keep the rain off her maple hair. She hopped over a large puddle and skipped over the next small one. Phoenix walked a few steps behind her; his hands around the straps of his back-pack. 

"You always seem to have something to complain about" Phoenix marched right through the puddles. Tifa hopped over the next puddle and turned around; the folder sagging all over from all the water. 

"This coming from the man who never talks" Tifa trumped him; she spun around on her left heel and took a step right into a puddle. "I am not liking this rain" Tifa jumped out of the puddle and took a few more steps forward. "And don't comment on it. I love the rain. I love watching it; I love walking in it. Just...I'd like to get home" Tifa turned around and looked at him. "Can I ask you a question? Where does your staff go?" Phoenix held his right arm outwards and shook his wrist; the staff popped into his hand at once. "How'd you do that?" 

"Feel inside the right sleeve of your jacket. Inside there is a pocket; it was designed to hold a small weapon" Phoenix spun the staff around in his hand; Tifa could see that the staff grew larger as he spun. No raindrop that got in its way stood a chance. "The staff can be expanded to this size or kept at a mere 10 inches. That is why it is so light" Phoenix twisted his wrist; the staff collapsed onto itself. "It gives me an element of surprise. It lacks materia space but I am no good with that" Phoenix twisted his wrist a different way; the staff went back up his sleeve. 

"You're a Cetra and a Jenova! How can you not be good with materia?" Tifa shifted the folder to drain the water off the side. Phoenix shrugged and jammed his hands into his pockets. 

"It's one of my blank spots..." The rain dripped off his silver hair and onto his face; the streaks looked like tears but were not. Tifa tossed the folder to the side and chuckled as the thunder boomed in the sky. 

"Hey, it's ok! Some people stink at materia" Tifa turned around and began walking down the puddle-laden path. Phoenix put his hands back on his back-pack straps and strolled down the road behind her. "You know it would mean a lot to Cloud and Aeris if you came back with us" Tifa looked over her soaking brown hair at her teenage companion. 

"I'm aware-" 

"It would mean the world to your sister, Flip. Consider it" Tifa smiled at him and turned forward; her soggy brown hair whipping in the air. Phoenix grinned his small grin and followed behind her again. "You know, we'll-" A loud boom interrupted her. Both of them froze in stride; neither moved for a second. "That was not thunder..." 

"It is dead! I killed it!" Phoenix's pride shouted out. Tifa shook her head; her hair was pasted to the sides of her face. Each individual rain drop seemed to hit their heads. 

"Look, maybe it lived. Maybe its a different one! It's something and I think its best if we find the others!" Tifa took a deep breathe before breaking into a sprint forward. Phoenix watched her run forward; his eyes hazing over. He let go off the straps of his back-pack; his hands balled up into fists of hollow pride. 

"I killed it...I killed it..." His palms opened outward; Phoenix watched as the drops of cool water splashed on them. 

"Flip...let's go...Phoenix!" Tifa screamed out. Phoenix shook his head and began to run after her. The rain thumped the ground along with his boots. 


	9. Chapter 9

"Cloud, this is not a good idea...!" Aeris was ducked down behind an old car. Cloud walked out from behind a truck and looked down the street; calling it a canyon would have been more accurate. Piles of buildings meshed with loose debris to make it a narrow canyon-way. Even with all the rain around them, even with the wind smacking into the canyon with force, even with the thunder in the sky, the only sound that bounced off those canyon walls seemed to be those footsteps. 

"Look Aeris, Boomer's not slow. Look how fast he caught up to us...we need to try it! Hopefully this will slow it down even more... " Cloud held his sword in front of him; right down the middle of his body. "I hope stops it" Cloud muttered. Aeris clenched her staff and nodded; Cloud could not see her but that did not matter. Cloud walked the monster round the corner; the rain could have been acid and not slowed this beast down. "Come here you!" Cloud screamed out; Aeris pushed off the car and went running away from the on-coming battle. She stopped near a huge over-turned train and looked at Cloud. 

"Be careful!" Aeris called out. Boomer began running towards Cloud at once; Cloud pivoted on his feet and went running towards Aeris at once. Aeris spun her staff around and watched. Cloud turned 90 degrees and jumped behind a truck. "Lightning 2!" As soon as the words left her mouth and the lightning bolt left her staff, Aeris jumped down behind the train and covered her head. The lightning bolt rammed right into the old car's gas tank. The loud explosion did not catch the monster's attention; the car that blind-sided it did. And the monster ended up getting slammed in between the canyon side and the metal car. Cloud ran out from behind the truck and climbed up the train. 

"Nice shot! Let's get the others, now!" Cloud jumped down; Aeris was already sprinting away from the train. Cloud followed her lead and sprinted through the rain. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the car flying into the air; it hung in the air for all of two seconds before it smashed into the train. "Guess that wasn't enough..." Cloud narrowed his eyes; the rain rivering down his face. "Nothing is enough..." 

* * *

Rays of light danced on Dallin Overton's fake oak desk. The flickered between the colors of the rainbow; red and blue would turn into orange and purple in a heartbeat when his eyes would move a degree. He tapped his fingers on his desk as he watched his free light show. "Ten more minutes and I can get to a golf course..." Dallin leaned back into his old chair and looked out the window. As he leaned his hands up to place them behind his head, a gag got jammed into his mouth. Dallin tried to lean forward; his body did move but all but not the way Dallin had hoped. He fell back into his chair; Reno pulling the night-stick away from his shoulder. 

"Sit there and shut the fuck up" Reno sat on his cheap desk. Dallin spit the gag out and stood up. Rude grabbed the man's shoulder and squeezed. Dallin nearly tipped over and fell back into the chair. "I told you to sit asshole. Stand up again and we'll shock you til you drop!" Dallin looked at Rude; the statue standing above him waiting to dislocate a shoulder. He looked forward at Reno again. And he saw light again. But it was just yellow and it was coming from the very dangerous night-stick in a very dangerous man's hand. 

"What on heavens could you want?" Dallin felt his lungs working overtime to keep his body full of air. He tried to pull some confidence into his lungs as he sucked int he air too. "Look, I got an important golf game I will be needing to get to-" 

"Shut up or I'll break your jaw" Rude ordered. Dallin looked up; that confidence was already out of his lungs and out of his body. Dallin shifted around in his chair; his eyes locked on that night-stick. "We will not be long" 

"Yeah; in fact we only have one question for you Overton. So just sit there and gasp you fat-bitch" Reno pushed the night-stick a whole inch closer. Dallin moved deeper into the chair; his massive belly hanging out in front of the rest of him. Rude put his hand down on his shoulder; the black leather of the glove still finding a way to make this man squirm. 

"You know Head of City Safety Reeve. Correct?" Rude looked out the window; the light bouncing off his sunglasses. Reno began to swing his night-stick in his hands; the electric glow at the top never left Dallin's eyes. 

"Yeah, he got my job. He is always being difficult. He's not from Junon...he's a blasted outsider..." Dallin hissed out. Rude began to force his fingers in deeper into the man's shoulder blade. Dallin dug his own fingers into the chair's arms. Reno stopped spinning the night-stick and sliced through the air. The stick stopped an inch from Dallin's face; the fat man was too afraid to even blink. 

"So you wanted to kill him?" Reno pressed the charger button on his night-stick; a few bolts of pure energy jumped off the stick at Dallin. The tiny bolts landed on his nose; Dallin slammed his eyeballs shut. 

"Why would I kill him...?" Dallin squirmed; the sparks from the night-stick burning on his nose and the fingers slowly separating his shoulder told him he had no escape. 

"You just listed the reasons you tubby-bitch!" Reno finger pressed the charger again; the golden shower of sparks covered his face again. Dallin felt tears coming down his eyes; his body was gasping for breathe. 

"I'm no killer!" Dallin screamed out. Rude let go of his shoulder and took a few steps forward. Reno stood up and walked over to the window. Dallin let out a timid breathe and relaxed his shoulder blades. "I'm glad you listen to reason..." Dallin scratched his nose a second then relaxed his shoulder once more. 

"No, you are not a killer" Rude pulled out his gun and aimed it right at Dallin's nose. "You did hire them though" The bullet broke right through Dallin's nose; blood began to pour out where the huge thing had been. Reno chuckled and crossed his arms. 

"Yeah, not as good as us" Reno turned off his night-stick and grinned. Rude looked over at Reno; his expression was harder than the cement on the road below them. 

"Let us go help Elena with the bodies" With that Rude was walking towards the front door. Reno sighed and placed the night-stick in its holder along his belt. 

"The fun is all over" 

* * *

"Cloud..!" Aeris' boots were dragging along the wet ground. Her running turned into a slow jog. "Cloud, you know I can't keep this up...!" Aeris' slow jog was becoming a fast-paced walk. Cloud halted his own running efforts and turned around. 

"Aeris, we can't stop now...this place is pretty wide open!" Cloud felt the rain drops rolling through his hair and down his back. And while the thunder kept trying to grab someone's attention, the only sound the two of them heard where the moans and footsteps of the killing machine following them. "We got to find the others...!" Cloud ran back through the storm and grabbed her wrist. "We sure as hell can't fight it here" Cloud turned and ran; Aeris running because she wanted to keep her arm whole. 

"The others can't be that far off..!" Aeris looked over her shoulder; the mixture of clouds and rain was making it tough to see anything. But then the lightning filled the sky and in the distance she could see the huge monster; its distorted face and perfect body stalking forward. Distracted, Aeris tripped Cloud's feet up; both went tumbling to the ground in a heap. Cloud felt his face smack of the wet cement; Aeris' knee slamming into his back was just as pleasant. "I'm sorry..!" Aeris tried to stand up but her legs were tangled with Cloud's; she nearly fell over before she rolled to the left and looked backwards. Heavy footsteps were rushing towards them. Cloud rolled over and held his sword upward. Boomer appeared through the storm; his body moving like an unstoppable train. Aeris' eyes went wide; she held her staff upwards desperately. Growing closer, the monster held its rocket launcher downward at them. 

"Oh no you don't!" Tifa's foot came out of no-where; it hit the beast right in the chin. Boomer staggered backwards and hissed out its horrid nose. Tifa rushed forward and kicked the rocket-launcher arm to the side. Boomer's arm only moved a few degree; it came swinging right back at her. Tifa ducked down and sprinted off towards the side. "Come on...!" She ran right towards the canyon wall. Aeris got to her feet; Cloud merely got to one knee and watched. Through the rain and mist they saw Tifa running towards the wall; Boomer running after Tifa, and Phoenix standing on top of the wall. Tifa spun around; the water allowing her to slide and spin all at once. Phoenix came off the top of the wall; his aim dead on Boomer. But unlike before, he did not catch the monster by surprise; Boomer swung his rocket launcher upward at the perfect moment. "Flip!" Tifa screamed out in horror; the boy went flying towards the others. Phoenix skidded along the wet surface until he sprung back up to his feet. 

"This thing should be dead!" Phoenix gasped; his mismatched eyes looking like he was seeing a ghost. "I killed it!" Boomer turned around and stared at Phoenix a moment. Then, it reared its head back and let out a in-human scream. 

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The beast's arm were flung to the sides. The scream shook the wall behind Tifa; she looked up and quickly ran to the side and out from behind the beast. She sprinted towards her friends; her eyes locked onto the monster the whole time. 

"You guys made it...!" Aeris screamed as Tifa got near; her voice filled with all sorts of hope. Tifa put her back to them and looked at Boomer; water dripping down her entire body from the rain. 

"Yeah, couldn't let you two have all the fun. He does not seem to happy..." Tifa commented; she saw that the monster was dead-locked on Phoenix. And Phoenix seemed dead-lock on the monster. "Flip, he's paying attention to just you-" 

"I will handle this. Let the battle be joined" Phoenix's staff appeared in his hands. He spun it around and dropped back into a defensive stance. Aeris stood there; her fingers beginning to lose blood from squeezing her staff so hard. 

"You're crazy!" Cloud shouted from the side. "And besides...did you call him Flip?" 

"That's his nickname...look, we can't let him do this-" 

"It will die by my hand!" Phoenix rushed forward at the monster; who snapped out of its trance when it saw the rushing boy. Boomer held its rocket launcher right at the boy and let fire; the missile came right at him. Phoenix jumped right over the missile, putting his staff back in his sleeve in mid-air, and began to front-flip towards the beast. He landed on his feet and punched the monster right in the chest. Pain set into his fist; before he could look at his hand the monster swatted him away with his free hand. Phoenix flew backwards into the cement ground. 

"Fire 2!" Aeris' broke her silence; a stern look on her face. The monster's back caught on fire for a moment; the rain helped put that out. Boomer turned around and faced them; he instantly held his rocket launcher up at them. Suddenly Phoenix jumped onto the rocket launcher arm; his left hand glowing silver with power. 

"You will die!" Phoenix jammed his hand into the rocket launcher; his blast shook the rocket launcher all around. Boomer screamed out loudly; the first scream he had let out in pain since the fight had started. Phoenix smirked; that did not last long. Boomer spun around and ran a few feet, then slammed his rocket launcher into the wall. Since Phoenix was between the wall and the rocket launcher, he took the brunt of the blow. Boomer lifted the rocket launcher up again; Phoenix weakly held on. So Boomer slammed its massive arm into the wall again. This time, Phoenix was stuck into the wall. 

"Damn you!" The Ultimate Weapon smashed right into Boomer's left shoulder blade; Cloud pushing down with all his might. Boomer, after letting out another painfully cry, spun around and landed his huge boot into Cloud's midsection. Cloud stumbled off to the side but held onto his sword. Boomer went to swing its rocket launcher at Cloud, but Tifa ran up and threw her knee right into the monster's midsection. Before Boomer could react Tifa cart-wheeled next to Cloud. 

"Run guys! Come on!" Aeris screamed out from the distance. "Lightning 3!" Aeris let loose a huge array of lightning bolts from her staff; each one hitting the monster. Cloud and Tifa went running towards Aeris; who had already turn around and began running. 

"We're gonna leave your-" 

"No, he can self-heal!" Aeris grinned; her eyes glowing their soft green glow. "Plus, we all know he loves to make an entrance...!" Aeris was already gasping for breathe, but she keep pushing on. Tifa looked over her shoulder; the monster was sprinting towards them. The hisses emitting from the monster were overshadowing the raindrops pounding on the cement. 

"I think its gaining on us...we got to make a plan!" Tifa looked forward again and pushed her legs even harder. "Because I'm not sure this thing feels pain!" Cloud shook his head and looked ahead; all he saw was a dead empty street ahead of himself. Cloud looked back but this time grinned. 

"Hold our ground here!" Cloud spun around on the ball of his foot and held his sword out. Aeris slipped and skidded to a stop while Tifa cart-wheeled and looked back at Boomer. 

"Why here?" Their voices came at once. And they saw Boomer coming up at them. Then they saw Phoenix run up beside him and throws his staff right in between the monster's legs. Phoenix jumped over the monster as it rolled on the ground and landed right near it's head. 

"Kuso-tare! Big Bang Attack!" Phoenix screamed; the huge energy ball flying off his hand right into its face. Phoenix smirked as a huge cloud of cinder-dust blew into his face. The rain helped keep the dust down. A huge bolt of lightning hit in the distance; its light let Phoenix see Boomer's huge fist ramming his stomach at the last second. Phoenix's jaw flung open as the punch pushed into his ribs. The monster tossed him off his fist and tried to base-ball swing him with the rocket launcher; but instead it hit Cloud's sword. Phoenix's knees hit the ground; Tifa came running up and sprung off his back. Her foot caught Boomer right in the upper-chest and knocked him over. 

"Gotcha!" Tifa rode him down before jumping off to the side. Cloud lifted his sword up to delivery a death blow but Boomer had already rolled backwards and gotten to his feet. Cloud and Tifa both took a few steps backwards. Phoenix rolled back exactly like Boomer did and stood next to his sister. Phoenix threw his arms down at his side. 

"I will destroy it-" 

"Calm down!" Aeris grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it tightly. "We need your help..." Boomer held up his rocket launcher at them; more specifically at Phoenix. Phoenix took a few steps back; Aeris spun her staff around as a clear shield went up in front of her brother "Barrier!" A clicking sound came from Boomer's rocket launcher. But a rocket did not come from it; Boomer shook his arm a few times and then roared. Phoenix gave the monster a dark grin. 

"Smart thinking" Cloud called out to the boy; who acknowledged him with only a nod. Lighting smashed into one of the remaining telephone polls in the city; it smashed down right between them and the monster. Everyone took a reflexive step backwards and watched the fire erupt on the pole. The rain-water began to hit the fire and smother some of it. Smoke rose upwards into the parade of rain falling from the sky. And through this mixture of smoke, fire, and rain came Boomer. He stood in the flames and aimed his rocket launcher again. Sparks flew off his arm and into the mass of flames all around it. 

"It's busted" Tifa sneered at the monster. Boomer grabbed its rocket launcher and yanked on it. He let out a massive roar and yanked on it again. "What is it doing?" Tifa screamed. Boomer let out a hiss and yanked the rocket launcher off its arm; most of it that is. For a large sharp piece was left on its arm. Boomer walked throw the flames and pointed his new weapon at them. 

"I believe he is angry" Phoenix noted. His staff appeared in his hands and he dropped back into a fighting stance. Aeris took a step back and held her own staff in front of her. Tifa crouched down into her defensive position while Cloud held his sword in front of himself. Boomer glared at each one of them before its body began to emit a sound. Not a hiss, not a moan, not a groan. It was laughing. At them. Each one of them. 

"Fuck you!" Cloud screamed loudly as he ran at Boomer. Tifa put her hands up to her face and took a step back. Cloud jumped in the air and swung his sword at Boomer. Being used to this move, Boomer ducked down and head-butted Cloud in the ribs. Leaning up with the former SOLDIER on his shoulders, the monster went running forward and leaped towards the sky. Air and blood rushed out of Cloud's mouth as he acted like a cushion between the ground and the huge monster. It lifted its new weapon into the air and brought it downward; a silver blast from no where knocked to the side and into the cement. 

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa-" The beast's scream was cut off as Tifa threw her whole body into him; the monster staggered off Cloud and back into the fire. Tifa ran forward and upper-cutted the monster; her body giving off a quick energy burst. Boomer fell back into the mixture of flames and smog. 

"Let's go...!" Aeris bent down and helped her brother throw Cloud over his shoulder. After Tifa meet them the three of them went running in the other direction. "We need a plan. Very badly, because we can't keep trying to attack him like this" 

"No kidding...!" Tifa felt the sickening mixture of sweat and rain mixing on her face. Peering through the rain she saw their new ally carrying her oldest ally. "Aeris, you're gonna have to heal him up! Because I'm pretty sure the three of us can't handle this stupid thing alone!" Phoenix pivoted on his ankles and went running to their right. "Where you going?" 

"Staying in the open will draw its attention faster. He will need some time to recover" Flip spat the words out quickly; a hint of fatigue in his voice. His running body was heading towards a few small buildings that had survived; they had been spared from Meteor's wrath. "This area will give us an advantage in the fight" Phoenix slowed down and walked into one of the buildings. Aeris looked over her shoulder; in the distance she heard the beast's roar. 

"Tifa, we need a plan" Aeris looked over at her friend. Tifa shook her head; a few loose rain drops flying off her hair. Aeris threw her staff over her shoulder; the pink string snapping against her. "Tifa, Cloud is knocked out and I'm not sure Phoenix is...well, a planner. It's up to you here" Aeris pleaded with her. Tifa closed her eyes and looked at Aeris. A tear mixed in with the water dripping down her face. 

"I don't know!" Tifa threw her arms down at her sides. "I don't know! We've done everything we can do and besides giving it a fucking sword for an arm, we haven't done shit!" Tifa watched as Aeris turned away; both of them went silent for a moment. "I'm not pissed at you...I'm just..." Aeris looked back at her friend; both of them knew what Tifa was going to say. "I'm scared of this thing" 

"We both are" Aeris quickly stated. She rung her hands together and looked at the building; her brother emerged without Cloud. "Let's get ready though. Cause I did not come back to life to die against some big monster that looks like it belongs in a bad horror movie" Aeris turned and walked towards the building; her walk full of purpose. Tifa nodded and loosened her right glove. 

"It's ending here" Tifa strapped it back on tightly. Hearing the roar in the distance, she turned towards the way they had come and waited. 

* * *

"A local bartender, Raymond Joseph, and one of his customers, Bill Henshell, attacked and killed Executive Member Dallin Overton today. The two attackers then got into a fire fight with two guards outside the office, killing all four of them..." Reeve put the newspaper down and looked upwards. Rude stood there; his mirror sunglasses giving Reeve a good look at himself. "You guys have not lost your edge. Not one bit" 

"We were not dealing with the elite of the universe here. A fat politician, two stupid guards, and two bar junkies are not what I consider a dream team. Still, it was nice to see it actually all work like I planned" Rude put his hand on his jaw and pushed it upwards. A loud crack emitted from the jaw as he stopped pushing and looked forward at Reeve again. "Plus Overton was worthless. He ate away more money then he ever saved Junon" 

"So now what you guys going to do?" Reeve folded the newspaper up and tossed it to the side. When he looked up, he knew by Rude's expression he was not getting an answer. "Alright, so I guess I'll see you guys when I see you" Reeve stood up and extended his arm towards Rude. 

"That is correct" Rude shook Reeve's hand and smirked. "Whenever we show up again. But know, we are even" Rude's smirk vanished when he finished speaking. "So no more favors" Reeve flopped back into his chair and stared forward. Rude walked out of his view then out of his office. 

"So much for friendship, eh?" Reeve picked up a different section of his newspaper and began to read. "I'm telling ya, some people..." 

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey Flip..." Tifa walked out of the former bakery and looked at her teen friend. "Aeris healed Cloud up. He's still knocked out, but his body is in good shape" The boy turned his neck around to look at her; streams of rain running down his jacket and his body. 

"We're going to need him. It's heading this way" A bolt of lightning charged up the sky. Phoenix shrugged his shoulders; the gray jacket falling off those same shoulders. Phoenix whipped his arms around and within a moment held the jacket in his hand. He casually tossed it to the side. Water splashed up from the puddle it landed in. "We need to be ready. This is our best chance at destroying this beast" Phoenix cracked his knuckles and ducked down. 

"Right...hey...you know that huge blast you did when we killed Sephiroth?" Tifa cracked her own knuckles and looked forward. The distant roar was becoming not-so-distant. "How long do you think it would take for you to fire that off?" 

"I'd need to concentrate for about ten seconds or more" His hands gave off a silver glow. "I'm not sure I can charge up that quickly now...." 

"Look, when Aeris shows up, we can try to distract it for you. If you hit it hard enough, it may die" Tifa took a deep breathe. "Or I can get behind it...you know, if this thing gets out of here-" 

"That is not an opinion" Phoenix did not allow her to finish. A shadow in the distance was moving closer and closer towards them. Tifa took a few steps up beside him; her feet splashing through the puddles. "Let the battle be joined" 

"Remember; stick, juke, and move. We're faster than him...barely" Tifa and Phoenix both dropped down into a fighting stance as the shadow approaching became the monster. After unleashing his trade-mark roar and pose, he sprinted towards them. Tifa cart-wheeled to the left while Phoenix ran to the right. The monster swung its giant sword-arm at a now-standing Tifa, who ducked down and punched towards its face. But she missed by half a foot; Phoenix ran up behind it and kicked out its knee from behind. The monster stumbled forward; now Tifa unleashed a huge punch to the mid-section. Phoenix grabbed the staggering monster around the waste and planted his feet. Leaning backwards, Phoenix somehow found the strength to throw the huge monster of his head. He released the hold in mid-air and let the beast fall right on its head. Flip rolled forward and stayed on his hands and knees; Tifa waited until the monster starting standing until she made her move. She ran forward and sprung off the boy's back. Her extended feet caught the monster right in the chest and knocked it down onto its back again. "Yes...!" Tifa pushed off the ground and got to her feet. 

"Watch out!" Phoenix tried to warn her but it was too late; Boomer had grasped her around the upper-chest and ran forward. Phoenix tried to attack the holding arm but he got swatted aside by the sword-arm. Tifa kicked her legs upwards and wrapped them around the monster's arm. Using its own movement, she pulled downward and catapulted the beast into the ground again. But she landed on the ground hard; air became far to scarce for her suddenly. The monster got to its huge feet before Tifa could catch a breathe. "Feel it!" A silver blast hit Boomer right in the chest. Phoenix came sprinting forward at him; he somersaulted off his chest and chopped his neck on his way down. Boomer did not move except to stalk closer. Phoenix landed on the ground and sent another silver blast into its massive body. Phoenix scrambled backwards, firing small blast and blast at the monster. Each one hit; each one failed to slow Boomer down. 

"Get out of-" Tifa came up from the side and threw at kick at the hideous face of the creature. Instead of the face, it hits the large open hand. That hand clamped down on her thin leg and gave Tifa the unwanted ability to scream in total pain. Hearing his oncoming footsteps through the puddles, Boomer swung his sword-arm and nailed the young Flip right in the shoulder blade. Tifa somersaulted out of the leg hold as her only ally currently in the fight fell to the side of the fight. Tifa instantly blocked her face as he feet settled on the wet pavement; the monster's huge hand slammed into that protection and knocked her staggering backwards. Tifa balled her fists up and leapt forward; her fist glowing with energy. "Die!" Boomer roared in pain as the fist full of energy exploded on its face. Tifa fell to one knee as Boomer fell onto its back. The cold rain drops covered her face as she watched the monster get to its feet. 

"Ka..." Phoenix weakly got to his own feet and held his hands back in a cup-shape. Streams of energy gathered around his hands as he pulled them backwards; his body twisting while his eyes were locked on the beast. "Me..." Boomer heard that line and turned towards him; his mangled eyes lighting up with anger. The beast sprinted, slower than before, towards his silver-haired target. "Ha..." Phoenix kept his eyes locked on the beast and kept trying to gather energy. Tifa got to her feet and ran behind the monster. "Me..." Flip grunted; the energy forming a sun-like effect from his body. Tifa threw her arms outwards and tried to grab the beast legs bug was two inches too short.. "Ha...!" Phoenix threw his cup-shaped hands forward; the energy beam flying upwards at where Boomer's head had been. Had been, for the monster had ducked down and used its large shoulder as a battering ram. That same shoulder was covered with the boy's blood after he spit up from the sudden impact to his chest. 

"Flip!" Tifa watched in horror; the monster grabbed the boy around the throat and went running towards the closest building. And even though she could close her eyes, she could not close her ears. And the sound of the glass shattering from the boy's impact caused Tifa to shiver. "Damn you!" Tifa's eyes flung open with anger. Now fueled by anger, Tifa went running towards the beast. Boomer turned around and roared at her before running towards her as well; both moving towards at each other with bad intentions on their minds. Just as they were about to collide, Tifa jumped to the side and extended her legs backwards; the monster tripped forward. It's mangled face got even more mangled thanks to the hard cement. The monster rolled over and leaned up, but Tifa leapt onto its chest and slammed her fist into its face. "Stay down and die!" Tifa reared back and repeatedly punched the monster in the face; her fists pumping like pistons. The monster stopped stirring; which caused Tifa to stop punching its horrid face. A strange green ooze leaked out of some of the seems in the monster's face. "It's bleeding...it's going to-" 

"Boom!" The monster's fist grasped Tifa's body and clamped onto it tightly. Tifa's body tried to cough; only a small trail of blood left her face. Boomer stood up and squeezed her body even harder; with her arms trapped under the hold, Tifa was helpless. Her head fell backwards; her mouth hung open as blood trickled out of her mouth. Boomer lifted its sword arm upwards and growled; Tifa leaned her head forward enough to know that the sword was aimed at ending her life. 

"Braver!" Tifa heard the voice but did not see the voice. She did see the sword-arm of the monster for another moment, before it fell off the monster's body. Boomer dropped the near-dead Tifa and roared in pain. Through her tears and the sky's rain, Tifa could see her ex-SOLDIER angel standing over her. "I told you Tifa...always will protect you" Cloud turned to Boomer and held the Ultimate Weapon in his hands. He was gasping for breathe already. Tifa nodded her head and closed her eyes. 

"Tifa...! Oh, I knew this was a bad idea...!" Aeris fell to her knees next to her friend and forced her hands together in a praying position. Just as her green energy gathered around her hands, Aeris looked up and around. "Where's my brother?" Aeris screamed and got to her feet; her staff bouncing around on her back. 

"Building...building..." Tifa forced out before her body heaved out a large amount of blood. Aeris' eyes went wide as she placed a hand over her heard. That lasted only a moment until she knelt back down next to Tifa and began to gather her healing energies again. Boomer screamed loudly; green ooze leaking from where it's arm had been. The monster bent down and grabbed the arm and slammed it into his open shoulder-blade. It let the arm go and watched it fall to the ground. 

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Despite losing an arm, the monster seemed stronger than ever. Sword in front of him, Cloud ran at the monster as fast as his damaged body would allow him. The monster swatted at him with his only remaining hand, but Cloud ducked down and swung his sword into the monster's chest. Boomer reared back before, from no where, jumping in the air and spin-kicking Cloud right in the face. Cloud and his sword flew into the air in different directions; both bounced off the ground when they hit it. Thunder rocked the sky above them all. Boomer staggered over towards Cloud; its massive body covered in its sick green ooze. Seeing Tifa's damaged body breathing without struggling, Aeris stood up and pulled the Princess Guard off her back. 

"Hey you!" Aeris took a few shaky steps forward; the rain dripping down her face. "Come on you big...jerk!" Aeris took a step back when the monster turned away from Cloud and sprinted towards her. She took a deep breathe and ran towards it, jumping and swinging her staff downward at its massive body. The staff never hit it; the monster's huge knee hit her right in the gut. Boomer grabbed her by the back of the neck and tossed her to the ground. Rolling over, Aeris got to her knees and groaned. Boomer ran forward and punted her right in the ribs. Aeris rolled along the ground and closed her eyes. 

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa!" Boomer reared backwards; his screams sounding like laughter. Aeris forced her eyes open and got to her knees. She looked at the monster with horror; she knew Tifa and Cloud were both done. She got to her one knee and watched as the huge monster stalked towards her; it's bleeding body moving slower than ever. Then, from the building to the left, a bright silver light pierced through the darkness of the storm. Then a huge silver explosion erupted from the building. Boomer turned towards the building with the broken front glass window and watched as Flip gathered energy all around his body. 

"Final....!" Flip put his hands together in front of his body; silver energy charging all around him. Boomer weakly ran forward towards Phoenix; its body now showing the wear and tear of the battles it had been through. The silver energy pushed forward; the glass blowing out totally from the window. Boomer mustered some energy and jumped towards the empty window opening. "Flash!!" Phoenix screamed; a giant silver energy beam emitted from Phoenix's hands and smashed into the monster's body. It went flying backwards on the beam; it sailed in the air for fifty feet until it smashed into the ground and rolled over a few times. Phoenix took a deep breathe and fell to his knees; his body begging for a rest. Then, a new groan entered his head; the building started to fall over. "Not good..." Phoenix jumped out the empty window as the building crumbled behind him. He jumped for safety and covered his head as the building looked like the rest of the buildings in Midgar; destroyed. 

"Phoenix, move...!" Aeris's green eyes went wide as a large piece of rubble landed right on top of her brother. Her hurt body moved forward as fast as she could; her aching legs trying to go faster than they could. Phoenix groaned underneath the old wall as he tried to pull himself out. Aeris fell to her knees next to him and pushed the rubble up. "Come on, get out...!" Aeris wrapped her hands around his body and pulled him out from beneath the wall. 

"So I stop the monster...and the wall hurts me..." Phoenix spat out. Bright red blood dripped out of his mouth. Aeris held his damaged body close to her; tears dripping down her face. The blood dripped onto her pink dress; giving it a new design that no one wanted to see. 

"You're not dying...I'm gonna heal you; you're gonna heal yourself...!" Aeris' body began to glow its gentle green glow. Soon the trail of blood out of his mouth had stopped and his breathing came easier. "I told you...you're going to be fine" Aeris closed her eyes and smiled softly. Her brother had ceased moving; his body getting the rest it clearly needed. Aeris sighed contently and kept her green healing wind over him. 

"Boom!" Aeris' eyes shot open; a shadow had covered over her. She looked up in horror to see the once black-monster standing over her. It's body was ripping apart it seemed; green ooze spewing from the busting seems of its huge body. Aeris pulled her brother close to her and put her hands over his body; ducked her head down and closed her eyes. 

"Just die...!" Aeris looked again and wondered if the voice had been a mirage. Until the head of the monster fell off. Aeris squirmed backwards as the body fell forward; the green ooze spewing from its neck and covering the ground. Cloud stood there; his sword covered in the green ooze now. "It just never listened....never wanted to die" Cloud weakly grinned at her. Phoenix gently pushed away from his sister and looked at the headless monster. 

"It's dead...I...we killed it" Phoenix went to stand up but stumbled. Cloud reached forward and grabbed his right arm; Aeris got to her feet and threw her body underneath that arm and helped him stand up. 

"Yeah, we did..." Tifa limped over towards them. She stood next to Cloud and looked down at the ooze-covered monster. Cloud put his arm around her; Tifa instantly put her head against him and looked down. "If it gets back up..." 

"I'm running" Phoenix calmly stated. Aeris looked up at him; her lips trembling with giggles. Aeris put her head against his chest and let her giggles out of the bag again. Tifa let out a few giggled but stopped and placed a hand on her injured ribs. Cloud just grinned at them, then looked down at Tifa. All of them stared down at the headless monster and watched the rain pound the body. The sky cracked with thunder and filled with lightning. 

"Let's mosey..." Cloud turned and began to walk away; Tifa at his side. Neither was helping the other for neither could walk alone; they required each other to move along. Aeris began to walk but her brother refused to move. She looked up and blinked at him. 

"What is it Phoenix...I mean, what is it Flip?" Aeris questioned. Phoenix blinked his mismatched eyes in confusion. He looked down at his sister in a total state of confusion. 

"Did he just say mosey?" 

* * *

"How did it turn out Overton?" 

"Very well sir. As we suspected, they went after Dallin Overton instead of myself. His past hatred for Reeve proved to be more than enough reason to hunt him down" 

"And there is no evidence suggesting they come after you?" 

"If they have any, its not enough to kill me. Plus the Turks are leaving town" 

"We were correct in assuming he'd contact them. I still wish we had killed him" 

"We got what we wanted out of him. No sense worrying about him now Malore" 

"I know Overton. Any news on Project B-6363747?" 

"It left its containment area recently..." 

"That does not worry me. I always knew it would leave one day. If we must kill it, we will kill it" 

"We believe it is dead sir. It would have come back to the containment area for food by now" 

"Impossible. Project B-6363747 is... 

"Malore, we do not require Project B-6363747 anymore. We both know this" 

"Regardless! Whoever killed Project B-6363747 will meet their end!" 

* * *

"Hey Phoenix...how you feeling?" Aeris lifted up the old plastic tarp and looked inside the cave. The cave was not a real cave; it was made up from the rubble of broken buildings. Phoenix was sitting against the wall; a mound of soaking wet clothes sitting to the left of him. He was in dry new clothes; the tank-top and pants fresh from shrink-wrap. Aeris pushed the tarp completely up and walked inside. Her brown shoes squished from all the water they had taken in. Phoenix glanced upwards and let a small smile grace his face. "What? I think I look cute in this" Aeris defended herself. 

"You look way to much like me" Phoenix grinned and nodded; the pants were obviously a size to big for her. The drawstring was pulled out so far it could trip her feet up. The tank-top was a better fit; it covered that which needed covered. "I'm glad Tifa found those outfit. Or we'd all be soaked" 

"Yeah, well, you may not get this one back. Especially the jacket" Aeris crossed her arms and held the jacket close to her. It was big but that did help keep her covered. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Phoenix lifted his butt of the ground and moved over slightly; he patted the ground and waved her over. After stepping around a few rocks, Aeris gently sat down next him. "Thanks Phoenix...er...Flip. Where did that come from, anyways?" Aeris blinked and looked up at him. 

"It was on one of the files Tifa and me found" Phoenix looked down at her for a moment then turned his attention back to the front of the tent. "And on the front is said "Project F.L.I.P. Or Fabricated Lifeform Interspecies Prototype...so she said she was going to call me Flip" Aeris kept looking at him and waited. Phoenix took a deep breathe and looked back at her. "I like it more than Phoenix...it has no negative attachments like Phoenix does" 

"So Flip you are. To us, anyways" Aeris grinned and poked his shoulder. Watching him wince and bit his lip, Aeris gasped and gently rubbed the spot. "Sorry! I forgot he smashed that arm of his into your shoulder!" Aeris placed both her hands on his shoulder and closed her eyes. 

"It's not hurt, just sore. So I do not believe healing will help..." Flip blurted out. Aeris opened her eyes but kept her hands on his shoulder. She gently began to rub it. "I told you, I do not require-" 

"I'm rubbing it to make it feel better silly" Aeris let go and gently smacked the back of his head. Flip rubbed the back of his head and made a face at her. Aeris smiled and titled her head; the huge mass of wet hair slumping over all at once. "You feel ok? I mean, besides being sore" 

"Nothing long-term..." Flip looked forward again; the tarp swaying in and out of the man-made cave. "Thank you...I would not of survived without your help" Phoenix forced out. Aeris noted the tone of his voice and nodded her head. 

"It's alright to ask for help you know Flip. We all need help at times...we needed your help to kill Boomer. And you needed our help to kill him. Face it brother-of-mine..." Aeris stood up and looked down at him. "You fit in well with us. And I don't mean as in a fighting unit. Now come on. Cloud and Tifa are making us some food. We're going to need it to get back to Kalm..." Aeris turned and walked towards the tarp. She stopped at it and turned around. "You are coming..." When he did not give an answer, she sadly pushed through the tarp and walked outside. After a couple of moments passed, Flip got to his feet and looked at the tarp whipping around in the wind. 

"Family...relationships, not relatives" Flip walked forward and pushed the tarp upwards. Rain was still pounding away; the bright blue tarp over his head was keeping it off them. Aeris stood next to Tifa , who sat near the fire; the pants looking like she had fabric garbage bags on her legs. The tanktop was hanging on her shoulders; the jacket served it purpose in keeping her covered. Standing near the edge of the tent-like structure was Cloud. While the others swam in their clothes, Cloud was skinny dipping in his. The pants stopped at above his ankles and left about an inch between the pants and his boots. The very fabric of the tank-top was stretched to the limit; the pants and tank top refused to touch, leaving Cloud's belly to be exposed any time he moved. 

"You couldn't be a few inches taller, could ya?" Cloud half-jokingly asked him. Flip made a face and looked at him with a very serious look. 

"Well, even though my clothes are too small..." Flip stopped; Tifa and Aeris both looked up from the fire at him. "It is much better then wearing purple" Flip finished. Instantly, Aeris buckled over giggling while Tifa rolled onto the ground and away from the fire. Both girls giggled despite the pain it caused their aching bodies. Cloud just stared at Flip for a few moments; his jaw half-open. 

"They're dark blue!" Cloud blurted out finally. Flip just blinked at him; confused. "They're dark blue! Navy blue! They are not purple!" Cloud's body was shaking. And it was not from the cold air or the chill from the rain. Flip merely walked over to the other fire they had going; all of their wet clothes except his were hung over this fire. Flip lifted up the sleeve of his shirt and pointed. 

"It's purple" Flip merely stated. Cloud stomped over with purpose. The sound of two giggles and hundreds of rain-drops swirled around them all. Cloud snatched the sleeve away and looked at it. 

"This is not...blue...how did my clothes turn purple!" Cloud's eyes went wide. Aeris merely looked around innocently; hoping no one would notice her. Tifa saw the look on her face and squealed in delight. 

"You washed your clothes together!" Tifa screamed before she fell over laughing again. Aeris shook her head no, but the smile on her face said yes. Cloud looked down at the ground and let out a deep sigh. 

"Why didn't you tell me this whole time I had purple clothes on...!" Cloud's voice dripped with mock sadness. He lifted the sleeve up again and dropped it out of his hand. 

"It's only purple looking when its wet" Aeris cheerfully said; she clapped her hands together and smiled at him. Cloud looked up and tried his best to look upset. His best was not good enough. "Besides we can make them blue again. Or leave them purple. It really does not matter" 

"She's right. Now get over here you" Tifa forced her giggles to stop as she checked the food she had on the skillet. "Dinner is served" Cloud strolled over towards them; Flip remaining where he was. Cloud sat down next to Tifa and looked at the skillet. Flip just watched; his eyes locked on the three of them. Tifa looked up at him and gave him a look. "I said dinner was served. I'm not bringing it to you Flip" Tifa smiled at him; her eyes just as welcoming as her smile. "Now come on over and eat with us. Then we can discuss how we're getting back to Kalm" 

"Very well" Flip walked over towards them; a certain spring in his step. "Once we get to Kalm, I need to call Reeve and ask him to send the files there" Flip sat down next to Aeris and looked at them. Aeris instantly smiled; the happiness nearly blinding him. That was expected. The grin on Cloud's face was no surprise. The genuine smile of happiness on Tifa's face was the real surprise. 

"Right, exactly. We can get that done, for sure" Tifa began to places pieces of bacon and eggs onto plates and passed them out. "And we can certainly use your help building our new house" 

"Yeah Flip...and I'm sure we can find you some room to live there. If you want" Cloud added before he began to eat his bacon. Aeris was just smiling; the pure happiness she felt needing no words. 

"Very well...that would be...good. One thing though" Flip asked. Everyone turned their attention to them. The piece of egg hanging out of Cloud's mouth drawing attention away from his questioning eyes. Aeris' eyes willed with a mix of worry and wonderment. Tifa chewed on her bacon as silently as she could, waiting for him. "No one turns my clothes purple. That's Cloud's color" And all the questions and worry went away. In its place, laughter and giggles filled the air around them. 

* * *

Author's Notes: That's all folks. Yes, with that Dead Streets is over and done with. It is only half as long as From The Ashes, but it only took a few months to do. In fact, the first four chapters where done August and September while the last six were done in December and January. That is why from Chapter 5 on the work is a much higher quality. Those last couple chapters are some of my best work and I'm fairly proud of it. 

Before I go further, thank you to CT for once again being my editor and all-around machine. I swear, he listens to me bullshit so much about this stuff he must not even want to read it. But he does. That's why he's my editor. In particular, the purple bit, some of the fight scenes, and most of the general feel is thanks to him. Also, thanks out there to anyone who read and reviewed the story. Thanks. 

Now, since From The Ashes was a remake of Misguided Beliefs, this was a partial remake of the sequel to Misguided Beliefs. That story was absolutely terrible. It never came close to be finished. The only thing that came from that was the idea that Tifa and Flip could form a bond. 

A couple more notes: 

- The politcal sub-plot was just my desire to do one. It also gave me a way to work the Turks into this story. More than one person wanted them in the first story; so this was the best I could do. 

- I hate stories where all the characters show up and serve no purpose. That's why Barret, Red XIII, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent do not show up. I had no reason for them to show up so they did not. 

- The whole story has a horror-story feel to it. Especially when Boomer is around stalking them. And yes, Boomer is based on a character from another video game. I leave it up to the reader to guess who, though. 

- I got sick of reading stories where monsters got killed with one or two sentences. So I spent a ton of time on one monster and two fights. 

And let's hit some important notes from the story: 

- Aeris and Tifa did not kiss. I repeat: did NOT kiss. They were just messing with Cloud. And while the two are becoming extremely close, it seems neither has gained Cloud's attention yet. That whole thing is still developing. 

- Phoenix actually makes a couple of connections in this story to other people. He also gained a nickname and now has his hands on some new files. 

- Reeve appears to be safe for the moment. Even though the Turks killed the wrong Overton. 

- Boomer is dead; he has only one arm left. And no head. 

- Someone is making monsters again. 

And that's it. I hope everyone enjoyed it. And to quote Strong Bad: It's over! 


End file.
